Family - The Durango Herald

Dealing with the office mean girls

Q: I am the only male in an office with four women. Two of them are snakes in disguise. They talk about each other to me and then team up against me, whispering like high school girls. I thi...

DATE: Mar 12, 2016 | CATEGORY: Family

My happiness may never look like my mom’s – and that’s OK

My favorite photo of my parents and me is from 1989. My mom is rocking a poodle-like perm and a daisy-print dress. My dad is wearing a beige suit and a boyish smile. He’s holding a 3-year-ol...

DATE: Mar 12, 2016 | CATEGORY: Family

Do you have a parent heading to assisted living? This research can help you.

My father moved into an assisted-living residence last fall. When I visited him several weeks later, I was surprised and intrigued to learn that he had an assigned table and ate with the sam...

DATE: Mar 12, 2016 | CATEGORY: Family

In a moment of grief, the kindness of strangers

Dear Strangers, I remember you. Ten months ago, when my cellphone rang with news of my father’s suicide, you were walking into Whole Foods prepared to do your grocery shopping, ju...

DATE: Mar 12, 2016 | CATEGORY: Family

Parents are hiring this man to search their kids' rooms with a drug-sniffing dog

When James noticed that his teenage daughter had taken to spending time with a new group of friends and that there was an unsavory odor in her room, he became suspicious. The Kent...

DATE: Mar 12, 2016 | CATEGORY: Family

Why I let my children read books about upsetting things

“Mommy, did you know a man shot a lot of little kids in a school a few days ago?” my oldest son asked during dinner. I sputtered, choking on my mashed potatoes. It was December 20...

DATE: Mar 8, 2016 | CATEGORY: Family

Dating apps are expanding their reach: Swipe for friends on Bumble or match-make on Tinder

Ever hand your phone over to a married friend – or your parents – to swipe through Tinder for you? Or wish you could swipe your way to a BFF instead of a boyfriend? There are alre...

DATE: Mar 8, 2016 | CATEGORY: Family

We broke up – but when we landed in the ER, that didn’t matter

He was the first man to break my heart. We dated casually this past summer, and I’d fallen harder and faster for him than I could help. He liked me, he said, but didn’t want anyth...

DATE: Mar 8, 2016 | CATEGORY: Family

Distinguishing defiance from anxiety: What to do with a child who worries

I should’ve recognized the signs earlier. Looking back on my oldest son’s first year of life, I hear Star Wars’ “Imperial March” playing in my head. If I’d been a seasoned parent, I might ha...

DATE: Mar 8, 2016 | CATEGORY: Family

People think I’m ‘lucky’ in love – but hard work has a lot to do with it, too

“You’re so lucky.” I hear that a lot from the women in my life. Whether it’s aimed toward my marriage, my writing career, my house, my ability to be a stay-at-home mom, it’s a dec...

DATE: Mar 5, 2016 | CATEGORY: Family

I turned to an online dating site to see if my husband and I were still a match

“It’s over,” my friend cried through the phone. Her 10-year marriage had imploded. I could hear the clanking of glassware being packed in boxes in the background as she recounted the painful...

DATE: Mar 5, 2016 | CATEGORY: Family

Posing with a fish on Tinder makes you a bigger catch

There are plenty of fish in the sea – and on Tinder. But what do you do if you’re not getting tons of bites? If you’re a guy, you might reel in more matches with an image of yours...

DATE: Mar 5, 2016 | CATEGORY: Family

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Photos: Wrestling at Durango High SchoolDurango High School boys wrestling beat Bayfield High School Tuesday night

Durango High School boys wrestling beat Bayfield High School Tuesday night

Photos: Where there's smoke there's firefightersDurango firefighters take advantage of the old River City Hall building for training

Durango firefighters take advantage of the old River City Hall building for training

Photos: Durango plays Montezuma-Cortez in boys, girls high school basketballDurango girls and boys basketball teams defeat Montezuma-Cortez at DHS

Durango girls and boys basketball teams defeat Montezuma-Cortez at DHS

Year in photos: A look back at Southwest Colorado in 2024Each year brings some of the new and some of the old – breaking news and cherished traditions. It is the people, their emotions, different cultures and varied forms of entertainment that make for impactful images. Add to that Southwest Colorado’s gorgeous scenery, abundant wildlife and range of weather events, and you have the makings for stunning photos. We hope you enjoy Photo Editor Jerry McBride’s photos from 2024.

Each year brings some of the new and some of the old – breaking news and cherished traditions. It is...

Montezuma County DA Christian Hatfield charged with DWICharges come 16 weeks after crash near Farmington, New MexicoMontezuma County District Attorney Christian Hatfield was charged Friday with driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs 16 weeks after he crashed his SUV on U.S. Highway 64 outside Bloomfield.The San Juan County Sheriff’s Office charged Hatfield, 59, with petty misdemeanor charge of DWI and an open container in connection to the Aug. 30 single-car crash.The charges come after results from a blood test by the New Mexico Department of Health Scientific Laboratory showed alcohol and a drug in Hatfield’s body after the crash.

“The results show that at the time of the blood draw, which was approximately eleven hours after the time of the crash due to medical issues, were 0.05 g/100 ml of Ethanol and 0.04 mg/L of Zolpidem (Ambien). Both Ethanol and Ambien are Central Nervous System Depressants,” the law enforcement report states.Two vials of blood were taken from Hatfield at 1:33 p.m. Aug. 30, which was more than 12 hours after the crash occurred about 1 a.m. Those vials were received by the New Mexico Department of Health Scientific Laboratory at 10:26 a.m. Oct. 11, which was six weeks after the crash, according to records from the lab.An investigation into the blood warrant by The Journal newspaper in Cortez, Colorado, showed that the blood sample sat in a refrigerator at the San Juan County Sheriff’s Office until Oct. 3, because paperwork to send it to the state laboratory was not processed.“I think it’s a non-prosecutable case because of all the errors made by law enforcement,” said Arlon Stoker, a high-profile defense attorney secured by Hatfield to fight the charges.

The charges made by the San Juan County Sheriff’s Office are “based on the observations made by law enforcement officers on scene and the presence of intoxicating drugs and liquors in Christian's blood,” according to the report that was given to The Journal by the New Mexico Foundation for Open Government.Amanda Lavin, legal director for NMFOG, assisted The Journal in accessing public records from the San Juan County Sheriff’s Office in Aztec. The records had been redacted, leaving out Hatfield’s name and information about the blood warrant filed in San Juan County Magistrate Court.Public records requests by The Journal and the Tri-City Record went unresolved for 14 weeks.The Journal requested body camera footage and lapel camera video on Sept. 3.The Tri-City Record requested any and all warrants, investigative reports and laboratory reports as well as photos, lapel cam videos and dash cam videos on Oct. 23.On Dec. 9, Lavin made the same requests.

The Journal received access to photos and videos in an email on Dec. 19, and Lavin, after making a legal argument for unredacted information, received the full report Dec. 19 and was advised that charges would be forthcoming.The report detailing the crash states that Hatfield was found “unresponsive and barely able to stand” about 1 a.m. Aug. 30 near the intersection of U.S. Highway 64 and County Road 5099.Investigators and medics noted a “pungent” odor of alcohol coming from Hatfield, and investigators found “an open 12-ounce can of Mexican Lager with residual liquid inside,” an “empty wine glass,” and a “bottle of Ambien prescribed to Christian,” according to the report.The affidavit for search warrant for blood submitted by sheriff’s deputy Avery Killifer states he had an “opinion that the defendant was driving under the influence of intoxicating liquor or a controlled substance.” The deputy “placed the defendant under arrest” at the time, but Hatfield was taken to San Juan Regional Medical Center, because of “extensive injuries.”A summons was issued for Hatfield, and an arraignment is set for 8:30 a.m. Jan. 8 in Aztec Magistrate Court.

Charges come 16 weeks after crash near Farmington, New Mexico