Local briefs: Adult learning classes switch to Zoom | Western Colorado

New Dimensions, a membership adult learning program, will offer a limited number of online classes this fall for seniors ages 50 and older using Zoom.

“Training will be provided for persons unfamiliar with Zoom and, since this is a new form of delivery for us, there will be no charge,” a news release said.

The list of fall term classes is online at newdimensionsgj.org. Registration is Sept. 7–11. Anyone planning to take fall classes is encouraged to take Zoom training. Training includes classroom participation tools such as raising hands, chat, mute and unmute. Fall term classes will be Sept. 21–Oct. 30.

Colorado man operated dark web market

AURORA — A Colorado man was sentenced to federal prison for serving as a moderator on a global dark web marketplace that peddled guns, drugs and stolen identities.

Bryan Herrell, 26, of Aurora was sentenced to 11 years by a U.S. District Court Judge in California Tuesday for his role in operating AlphaBay, The Sentinel reports.

The U.S. Department of Justice said the now-shuttered online bazaar operated on the Tor network and became the most expansive internet market for drug sales. AlphaBay launched one year after the FBI shut down the similar Silk Road network.

Herrell used the online monikers Penissmith and Botah to referee arguments between sellers and buyers and watch for scams, federal officials said.

The site required users to employ various cryptocurrencies for payment, including Monero, Ethereum and Bitcoin. AlphaBay operators also provided “tumbling” and “mixing” services to blur the digital money trail.

Dixie Center votes to retain its name

SALT LAKE CITY — The Dixie Center in southern Utah has announced it will keep its name despite previous considerations after voting to rebrand the convention center in June.

The center’s board voted 5-2 on Tuesday to keep the name, but incorporate the county’s Greater Zion marketing at the center, KUER-FM reported.

Washington County Commissioner Gil Almquist said the decision was made after the board received feedback from the community.

“The part of an elected official is to listen,” Almquist said. “It was a misunderstanding initially of the role Greater Zion would play and that it pushed the name Dixie out, which was not my intent.”

Dixie is a nickname for the southern U.S. states that formed the pro-slavery Confederacy in 1860, sparking the Civil War. Critics have said the term is racially insensitive.

Pilot dies in crash of Mustang T-51

DENVER — An investigation is underway after a small plane crashed northeast of Denver, killing the pilot.

The Denver Post reports witnesses heard the engine of the Titan Mustang T-51 aircraft stall a few minutes after it took off from the Van Aire Airport in Brighton on Wednesday afternoon. The plane then spiraled into a nearby field.

Sgt. Adam Sherman, a spokesman for the Adams County Sheriff’s Office, says it appears the pilot was the only fatality. Investigators have not released the victim’s name or age.

The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board will lead the probe into the crash. The Mustang is a replica of the P-51 planes flown during World War II.