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Denver Woman: Military Exercise Causes Yard Damage

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Jun 18, 2008 9:20 am US/Mountain

Denver Woman: Military Exercise Causes Yard Damage

Reporting
Howard Nathan
DENVER (CBS4) ― A woman in Denver claims the military helicopters flying over the city this week as part of a training exercise caused damage in her backyard.

"It's creepy, they didn't have to get right next to our house and do that," said Michelle Simpson.

"The window was open and then it broke. Now you can put anything through there," added Simpson.

Sand bags that used to keep a gate closed couldn't do anything against the helicopter's power.

Even recyclables in a big purple garbage pail were spread all over her backyard.

Lt. Steve Ruh from the U.S. Department of Defense says that helicopters fly 1,000 feet above ground level, according to federal aviation rules.

Simpson said her home is next to an old hospital where the helicopters were landing as part of the exercise.

Ruh never mentioned why the military failed to notify the public about the urban war training before the helicopters started to fly Monday night.

Simpson said she wished she would've had a heads up. 

Joint Statement From the City and County of Denver and the U.S. Department of Defense Regarding Public Notification of Ongoing Multi-Agency Training Exercises

The federal agencies sponsoring the ongoing multi-agency training in Denver agreed to make the proper notifications regarding the exercises to prevent surprise and inconvenience to Denver residents. There seems to have been a misunderstanding about the reach and scope of these notifications, and they did not occur in  the manner expected by the City.

Although these exercises are in no way connected to the upcoming Democratic National Convention, Denver officials were well aware that there would be heightened sensitivity to an exercise such as this because of its proximity to the Convention..

Denver recognizes that these are our federal partners, and we are fortunate that they have chosen Denver for their training exercises. Should there ever be an emergency here that would require federal assistance, they will be familiar with our City and how best to navigate it.

(© MMIX CBS Television Stations, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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