Text of a statement issued Wednesday by Ronald and Loretta Murray, parents of Matthew Murray, the gunman who killed four people at a Colorado church and youth mission center on Sunday:

Out of respect for the grieving families of the victims of this unthinkable tragedy, our family will not be making any statements to the press until funeral services for all the victims have concluded. Our thoughts and constant prayers are with the families of Stephanie and Rachel Works, Phillip Crouse and Tiffany Johnson as well as those who were injured in the shootings.

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Ft. Carson is preparing for a lot of turnover in the next couple of months. By the end of December two different brigades of about 4,000 soldiers each are going to switch places. One will be coming home from Iraq, the other will leaving to go there. This story takes us to a “pre-deployment fair” held this week, and the memorial service for two Ft. Carson soldiers killed in Iraq in October.

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From fleet-footed hillbillies to fat Elvi, there was a plethora of the paranormal in Manitou Saturday, Oct. 27, 2007.

And that’s the way they like it.

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Dear Friends,

We are deeply saddened to bring you the news that KRCC’s mentor, friend and former station manager, Mario Valdes, passed away Friday morning, September 14th, 2007. He was with family, and died peacefully. We will provide you with more information about memorial services and tributes in the coming weeks. Meanwhile, Mario’s obituary follows.

-Delaney Utterback and the KRCC crew

Mario Benedict Valdes
April 3, 1953 - September 14, 2007

Mario Valdes entered eternal life on September 14, 2007. He was born in Havana, Cuba on April 3, 1953. His father was a dealer of import/export domestics and the family moved to New York City when Mario was a 2-year old. He grew up in Brooklyn and Queens and attended Brooklyn Technical High School.

In third grade, Mario determined he had three goals in life: to be a New York City cab driver, to design houses and to run a radio station. After briefly living in Miami, 19 year-old Mario returned to New York and drove a yellow cab in Manhattan for a year–his most famous passenger being Katherine Hepburn.

Mario attended Oklahoma State University to study architecture and moved to Denver in the mid 1970s to begin a career as an architectural designer. For several years he designed beautiful custom homes and offices for clients in Denver, Perry Park, Monument and Colorado Springs.

A music collector, Mario started at radio station KRCC in 1979. He became the station’s manager and first paid employee in 1980 and first full-time employee in 1983. He left the station in 2006. As station manager he created the blueprint of what KRCC is today. He was instrumental in bringing National Public Radio to Colorado Springs and all the listening areas throughout southern Colorado.

Mario was married to wife Donna from 1982-2000; their son, Adam was born in 1986. Mario enjoyed giving Adam the unique opportunity of meeting such personalities as Johnny Winter, Lyle Lovett and Randy Newman at the concerts which KRCC produced in the early 1990s.

A self-proclaimed “political junkie,” Mario thoroughly enjoyed the intricacies, philosophies and personalities of politics. As a naturalized United States citizen, he held close to his heart the personal rights and freedom of his country.

Mario’s favorite peaceful past-time was fishing. He particularly enjoyed the many times he spent fishing with his son at 11 Mile Reservoir and Lake Powell, Utah.

Mario was preceded in death by his mother Gilda Valdes and grandparents Jacqueline and Jean Gall. He is survived by his son, Adam Valdes; his sisters Joyce Skowron and Frances Collado; his nephew Luis Hernandez and his father Mario Valdes. He is also survived by many dear friends including Shari Montgomery, Pat Bass Black, Delaney Utterback and Donna (Valdes) Sheloski.

Memorial information to follow.

Peace activists in Colorado Springs commemorate September 11 by staking out a major city intersection close to local offices of international military contractors. Both the demonstrators’ behavior and officials’ response were peaceful.

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On Wednesday, more than 200 people, including the mayor and many city council members, met in Memorial Park to remember Army Corporal Teddy Eastburn. Eastburn, age 22, was an Iraq war veteran. He served there with the 900th Chemical Recon detachment. He died Sunday of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. A first sergeant from his unit, James Marsh, called him a casualty of war.

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The Air Force Academy held a memorial service last weekend for a 44 year old airman who was recently killed in Afghanistan. A master sergeant, he was planning to retire next year and move back to Colorado to be near his family. Bente Birkeland reports from Denver.

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Fort Carson held a memorial service for five soldiers killed in an attack in Iraq last month. It was the single deadliest incident involving Ft. Carson soldiers since the war began. Bente Birkeland reports from Colorado Springs.

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This week Ft. Carson is honoring seven soldiers from the 2nd Infantry’s 2nd Brigade. Five were killed in the single deadliest incident for troops from the post since the war began.

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The Department of Defense says a 44-year-old man from Colorado has been killed in combat in Afghanistan. Air Force Master Sgt. Randy J. Gillespie, of Coaldale, was killed by small arms fire near Herat.
Gillespie is the 9th servicemember with ties to Colorado to die in the last two weeks. Yesterday, we heard from soldiers at Ft. Carson who are preparing to deploy to Iraq. Today, we’ll hear from one more, and a couple of Army wives. We wanted to know if soldiers and their families are being affected by recent news of U.S. troops being killed in combat.

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The Colorado Springs Gazette is reporting the death of Ft. Carson Soldier Specialist Eric Lill. A 28-year-old from Chicago, Lill is the 8th soldier from Ft. Carson to die in the last two weeks. Seven of them were from the same unit, the 2nd Infantry’s 2nd Brigade Combat Team.

We wanted to know if the high frequency of recent combat deaths weighs on the minds of soldiers who expect to depart for Iraq soon. We got a chance at a picnic for the 4th Infantry’s 2nd Heavy Brigade last Friday.

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Looking southwest, Sand Creek or Chivington Massacre, 1864.
O. Y. Rookstool

The land where the Sand Creek Massacre took place has become a National Historic Site, 140 years later. It took the cooperation of three tribes, the state, the National Park Service, and Congress. The site–in southeastern Colorado–is where militiamen killed more than 150 members of the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes in a raid on November 29th, 1864. Steve Brady’s ancestors survived the massacre. He represented the Northern Cheyenne Tribe in negotiations. Alexa Roberts is Superintendent of the new site, which will open to the public next month.

Ryan Warner of KCFR in Denver recently spoke to Roberts and Brady for the KCFR program “Colorado Matters.”

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Friday marks the eighth anniversary of the Columbine High school shootings in Littleton. Colorado lawmakers say the killings at Virginia Tech earlier in the week make this year’s anniversary especially difficult. Bente Birkeland reports from Denver.

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FT. CARSON MOURNS THE LOSS OF HIGHEST RANKING OFFICER TO DIE IN IRAQ
Lt. Col. Eric John Kruger was killed by a roadside bomb on his first mission in Iraq, shortly after Ft. Carson’s 2nd Brigade Combat Team arrived. The 40-year-old father of four will be sorely missed. We take you to the memorial held for him at Ft. Carson Wednesday. [LISTEN] [TRANSCRIPT]

COMMENTARY: FORGETTING THE DAY KENNEDY DIED
What were you doing on November 22nd? That date ring a bell for you? For people of a certain age, November 22nd, 1963 is a day frozen in time, when they can tell you exactly where they were and what they were doing. Commentator Caroline Vulgamore explains why. [LISTEN] [TRANSCRIPT]