Jeff graduated from Durango High School and Ft. Lewis College and rose to flying an FA-18 Hornet for the U.S. Navy flight demonstration team the Blue Angels. Jeff was killed in an accident while flying his aircraft in practice for a show to be performed at Smyrna, Tennessee.
The Town of Smyrna has built a substantial memorial to Jeff which includes an FA-18 on static display. Here, in his hometown, we have renamed State Highway 3: “Capt. Jeff Kuss Memorial Highway.” That’s it.
I sought more and talked to and got a runaround from someone at Colorado Department of Transportation. I was told that what could be posted was substantially controlled by the federal Highway Administration. Really?
Highway 3 is not a U.S. highway; it was a state highway and now, because of annexation, may be owned by the city of Durango.
I don’t believe the feds can control what we put up. This person at CDOT said it would control size, location, message, color, everything. I call BS.
Concerning colors, the county road signs are blue-and-yellow, which happen to be Blue Angel colors.
We need to do more. The sign should, at the very least, identify Jeff as having been a Blue Angel. A park memorial would also be appropriate.
George ThompsonDurango