West

This woman bought a dream house with a creek. Her community turned it into a living nightmare

Published

1 year ago

November 24, 2024

This woman bought a dream house with a creek. Her community turned it into a living nightmare

Editor’s note: This is the first story in a series about Taralyn Romero’s property rights battle in Kittredge, Colorado. Read part 2 on Sunday.

KITTREDGE, Colo.– The house next to Bear Creek looked like something out of a fairy tale, growing right out of the earth alongside towering pine trees. Snow covered the ground, pristine except for a few animal tracks. The stream, nearly frozen over, meandered through the piles of white.

“It was pure bliss,” Taralyn Romero recalled. A playground even sat on the other side of the creek that she pictured her partner’s daughter enjoying.

But as the weather started to warm, pure bliss turned into a nightmare. And Romero, pitted against her neighbors and the local government, would soon become the wicked witch of her fairy tale.

SUPREME COURT DECIDES CASE OF CALIFORNIA MAN CHARGED $23,000 BY COUNTY TO BUILD ON HIS OWN LAND

Taralyn Romero looks over Bear Creek toward Kittredge Park. Her house sat on the south side of the creek, with a small slice of property extending to the north bank of the water. (Courtesy of Taralyn Romero)

Romero is a native Coloradan and had been living in Denver when COVID hit. Like so many city dwellers at that time, she decided she wanted more space and rented a house in the mountains. When the lease was up, she wanted to stay rural.

Enter the house in Kittredge, an unincorporated community about 30 minutes outside of Denver with a population just over 1,300 people as of the 2020 Census.

She fell in love with the home on a small slice of property along Bear Creek and moved in along with her partner and his daughter in March 2021. At first, the only trespassers on her land were elk and other animals.

As the snow melted away, fishermen started wading into the portion of Bear Creek that looped through the edge of her property.

Then summer hit. A couple fishermen turned into dozens of people gathering in Kittredge Park as school let out. Families brought their coolers and floaties and spent the day playing in her creek.

They left behind solitary socks and dirty kids’ clothing strewn over logs and tree stumps, empty baby wipes containers, children’s water bottles and a red Hydro Flask adorned with a sticker of a turtle and the words “F— plastic.”

At first, Romero was perplexed. There was no fence or other boundary between the park and her property. Maybe people just didn’t know they were on private land.

So that first summer, Romero says she asked visitors what they were doing there. Some knew the creek — and land next to it — were private, but told her the previous owners had long granted public access to both. Others were driving more than an hour from surrounding areas to get to a park that had a creek next to it, she said, unaware that the water was on private property.

BRENTWOOD BLIGHT: HOW A SUPREME COURT CASE ALLOWED GOVERNMENTS TO SEIZE PROPERTY ON BEHALF OF DEVELOPERS

Romero said dozens of people descended on the portion of Bear Creek that ran through the edge of her property, eager to enjoy the water during the summer. Some told her they knew it was private land, but that the previous owners let the community use it. Others had no idea, she said. (Courtesy Taralyn Romero)

Romero’s immediate concern was potential liability, she said.

“Having a playground where kids are running back and forth and the parents are sometimes distracted on their phones, made me incredibly concerned that I was going to be dealing with a drowning at worst, or someone getting hurt and slipping on the rocks at best,” she told Fox News Digital.

And while most visitors were respectful, she was upset at the mess left behind each day when the crowds finally went home.

Kids and pets dug holes in the creek bank. People broke trees and left trash. Diapers, cigarettes and cans littered the ground.

Romero said she didn’t know what to do. She put up a “no digging” sign, and she set out a table and chairs with a placard reading, “Private Property: Residents and Invited Guests Only.” They went ignored.

Her family was new to a small town and didn’t want to make waves, she said.

“We wanted to make friends. We wanted to fit in,” she said. But even gentle reminders to people that they were on private property and requests to respect the land were met with aggression and “vitriol,” she said.

Uncertainty over property lines

The summer after Romero purchased the home, county officials told community members that they were researching where the property lines stood. The county believed the creek had likely moved since the plat map for Kittredge was created in 1920.

“We don’t know if the creek has meandered onto their property,” Matt Robbins, spokesman for Jeffco Open Space, told local media at the time.

At a September meeting with the Kittredge Civic Association board, Romero and her partner Michael Eymer clarified that the “Residents and Invited Guests Only” sign meant Kittredge residents. An attorney from a nearby community whose children played in Bear Creek said she was considering seeking a temporary restraining order so families could continue using the park until the county determined who the real owners were.

Meanwhile, hostilities continued to grow.

“I got maps thrown in my face. I got cussed out. I got screamed at,” Romero said. “I got threatened, and I got told that it wasn’t my land and that I had stolen it.”

Romero said “bad actors” and “bullies” quickly outnumbered the rest, coming into her backyard specifically to antagonize the family.

“They were not there to play with the kids. They were there solely to scream at us, to cuss at us and to harass us,” she said.

TEXAS GRANDMOTHER JAILED IN ALLEGED POLITICAL RETALIATION WINS AT SUPREME COURT

Taralyn Romero said she was frustrated at the destruction and mess left behind by some families who visited Bear Creek. (Courtesy Taralyn Romero)

‘People lost their damn minds’

After what Romero described as a “trial period” in which she tried to share the land with the community like the former homeowners had done, she was done playing nice.

She strung a rope across her property and put up no trespassing signs.

“When that rope went up, people lost their damn minds,” she said. “It catapulted this situation into a whole other stratosphere.”

She said people started conspiring online and collectively agreed to ignore the rope and “openly trespass.”

Romero felt like she was portrayed “as a villain… someone who didn’t want to watch children have fun.”

“Once it got on to Facebook, it really took off,” she said, escalating from a couple of hundred people to a “full on frenzy” of mob mentality. People from around the country now hated her.

“It really changed the course of my journey… and threw me into an enormous battle, not only with my community, but eventually with my government as well,” she added.

This is the first story in a series about Taralyn Romero’s property rights battle in Kittredge, Colorado. Read part 2 on Sunday.

Hannah Ray Lambert is an associate producer/writer with Fox News Digital Originals.

Read the full article from Here

Montana

Montana Lottery Powerball, Lucky For Life results for Jan. 10, 2026

Published

1 hour ago

January 11, 2026

Press Room

The Montana Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big. Here’s a look at Jan. 10, 2026, results for each game:

Winning Powerball numbers from Jan. 10 drawing

05-19-21-28-64, Powerball: 14, Power Play: 3

Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Lucky For Life numbers from Jan. 10 drawing

17-24-36-38-43, Lucky Ball: 17

Check Lucky For Life payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Lotto America numbers from Jan. 10 drawing

06-15-20-22-25, Star Ball: 10, ASB: 02

Check Lotto America payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Big Sky Bonus numbers from Jan. 10 drawing

03-07-20-23, Bonus: 13

Check Big Sky Bonus payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Powerball Double Play numbers from Jan. 10 drawing

10-19-39-47-67, Powerball: 18

Check Powerball Double Play payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Montana Cash numbers from Jan. 10 drawing

06-12-17-18-25

Check Montana Cash payouts and previous drawings here.

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results

When are the Montana Lottery drawings held?

Powerball: 8:59 p.m. MT on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
Mega Millions: 9 p.m. MT on Tuesday and Friday.
Lucky For Life: 8:38 p.m. MT daily.
Lotto America: 9 p.m. MT on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
Big Sky Bonus: 7:30 p.m. MT daily.
Powerball Double Play: 8:59 p.m. MT on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
Montana Cash: 8 p.m. MT on Wednesday and Saturday.

Missed a draw? Peek at the past week’s winning numbers.

Winning lottery numbers are sponsored by Jackpocket, the official digital lottery courier of the USA TODAY Network.

Where can you buy lottery tickets?

Tickets can be purchased in person at gas stations, convenience stores and grocery stores. Some airport terminals may also sell lottery tickets.

You can also order tickets online through Jackpocket, the official digital lottery courier of the USA TODAY Network, in these U.S. states and territories: Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Puerto Rico, Washington D.C., and West Virginia. The Jackpocket app allows you to pick your lottery game and numbers, place your order, see your ticket and collect your winnings all using your phone or home computer.

Jackpocket is the official digital lottery courier of the USA TODAY Network. Gannett may earn revenue for audience referrals to Jackpocket services. GAMBLING PROBLEM? CALL 1-800-GAMBLER, Call 877-8-HOPENY/text HOPENY (467369) (NY). 18+ (19+ in NE, 21+ in AZ). Physically present where Jackpocket operates. Jackpocket is not affiliated with any State Lottery. Eligibility Restrictions apply. Void where prohibited. Terms: jackpocket.com/tos.

This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Great Falls Tribune editor. You can send feedback using this form.

Source link

Nevada

Nevada gets back in win column, downs Wyoming, 92-83

Published

2 hours ago

January 11, 2026

Press Room

Nevada gets back in win column, downs Wyoming, 92-83

Corey Camper Jr. put on a shooting clinic and helped Nevada get back in the win column.

Nevada beat Wyoming 92-83, on Saturday in front of an announced crowd of 8,906 fans at Lawlor Events Center.

Camper Jr., playing for the third time after missing a month with a back injury, scored a career-high 31 points as Nevada improved to 4-1 in the Mountain West Conference, 12-4 overall. He was 10-of-13 from the field including 5-of-7 from 3-point range, and 6-of-8 from the free throw line, playing 32 minutes. He had seven rebounds.

Elijah Price had a double-double with a career-high 20 points and 16 rebounds, in 34 minutes, while Tayshawn Comer, Amire Robinson and Peyton White each added 10 points. Comer had 10 assists as Nevada had 21 as a team. Vaughn Weems returned to the court after missing the San Diego State game on Tuesday with the flu. He played 12 minutes and scored nine points.

The Wolf Pack shot 61 percent from the field (31-51) and made 10-of-16 from the arc.

Nasir Meyer led Wyoming with 27 points as the Cowboys dropped to 2-2 in conference, 11-5 overall.

Nevada coach Steve Alford said the Wolf Pack’s defense was better against the Cowboys than it was in the loss to San Diego State.

But still not to the level he would like it.

He cited communication and players’ stances while both guarding the ball and off the ball as a few of the many fundamentals the Pack needs to improve.

“We had slippage in the (San Diego) State game and we didn’t have a whole of improvement in this game, from a defensive standpoint,” Alford said Saturday night.

Nevada’s offense was much better, though, than in the loss to the Aztecs. The Pack took better shots and eliminated bad shots.

Alford said Price played more of a complete game than he has most of the season.

Price said the Pack’s defense was not good, but played better in the second half and that as why the Pack won.

“We’re a lot better defensively than what we’ve been showing the past two games,” Price said. “We know if were going to beat Utah State on the road, we’re going to have to get some stops, so that’s what we’re focused on.”

More Key Stats

Nevada outrebounded Wyoming, 38-32. Both teams had nine offensive boards.

Nevada had eight turnovers and Wyoming had six.

The Pack outscored the Cowboys, 38-32, in the paint.

Wyoming’s bench outscored the Pack’s, 31-29.

Out

Nevada’s Joel Armotrading and Tyler Rolison did not play. Armotrading was injured against Washington on Nov. 27 and has not played since. Rolison has a back injury.

Half

Wyoming led, 39-38, at the half. Camper Jr. had 19 points in the first half.

Nevada shot 14-of-27 from the field and 5-of-10 from the ac.

The Cowboys outscored the Wolf Pack in the paint, 22-14.

Up Next

Nevada travels to play at State at 7 p.m. Wednesday.

The Aggies dominated Boise State on Saturday, taking a 93-68 win to improve to 14-1 overall, 5-0 in conference.

Nevada will travel to Logan, Utah on Tuesday, and stay on the road for the following game, at Air Force on Saturday.

“(Utah State) has one of the best crowds in the Mountain West , so we know it’s going to be a very difficult game for us,” Alford said. “We needed to get this one, to get that momentum before we go on the road.”

Alford said if Indiana wins that game, and finished 16-0, it means Indiana will have the only two undefeated season in college major sports as the Hoosiers 1976 basketball team was undefeated.

Alford’s Alma Mater

Alford played college basketball at Indoana.

The Hoosiers are playing Miami for the national football championship on Jan 19.

Steve Alford discusses Nevada’s 92-83 win over Wyoming on Saturday

Nevada men’s basketball coach Steve Alford discusses the Wolf Pack’s 92-83 win over Wyoming on Saturday

Nevada’s Remaining Schedule

Wednesday, Jan. 14, 7 p.m. at Utah State (TV: CBS Sports Network/Radio: 95.5 FM)
Saturday, Jan. 17, 1 p.m. at Air Force (TV: MW Network, Ch. 21/Radio: 95.5 FM)
Tuesday, Jan. 20, 7 p.m. vs. San Jose State (TV: KNSN, MW Network, Ch. 21/Radio: 95.5 FM)
Saturday, Jan. 24, 5 p.m. at New Mexico (TV: CBS Sports Network/Radio: 95.5 FM)
Tuesday, Jan. 27, 7:30 p.m. vs. Grand Canyon (TV: FS1/Radio: 95.5 FM)
Friday, Jan. 30, 7 p.m. vs. UNLV (TV: CBS Sports Network/Radio: 95.5 FM)
Tuesday, Feb. 3, 5 p.m. at Boise State (TV: MW Network, Ch. 21/Radio: 95.5 FM)
Saturday, Feb. 7, 7 p.m. vs. Fresno State (TV: KNSN, MW Network, Ch. 21/Radio: 95.5 FM)
Saturday, Feb. 14, 7 p.m. at San Diego State (TV: CBS Sports Network/Radio: 95.5 FM)
Tuesday, Feb. 17, 7 p.m. at San Jose State (TV: MW Network, Ch. 21/Radio: 95.5 FM)
Saturday, Feb. 21, 7 p.m. vs. Utah State (TV: FS1/Radio: 95.5 FM)
Tuesday, Feb. 24, 8 p.m. vs. New Mexico (TV: CBS Sports Network/Radio: 95.5 FM)
Saturday, Feb. 28, 7 p.m. at UNLV (TV: CBS Sports Network/Radio: 95.5 FM)
Tuesday, March 3, TBD at Wyoming (TV: MW Network, Ch. 21/Radio: 95.5 FM)
Saturday, March 7, 7 p.m. vs. Air Force (TV: KNSN, MW Network, Ch. 21/Radio: 95.5 FM)