TEMPE, Ariz. (AP)—Todd Reesing completed 27 of 35 passes for 313 yards, four touchdowns and an interception as the Kansas Jayhawks decimated the Minnesota Golden Gophers, 42-21 Wednesday in the Insight Bowl at Sun Devil Stadium. Reesing found most of his success by throwing to prolific receiver Dezmon Briscoe who hauled in a bowl record 14 passes for 201 yards and three scores. The win proved to be the Jayhawks’ third straight in a bowl as they ended the season with a mark of 8-5. The loss dropped Minnesota to 7-6 to finish out the season. In other bowl action Wednesday, Houston handled Air Force, 34-28 in the Armed Forces Bowl, Oregon State blanked #20 Pittsburgh, 3-0 in the Sun Bowl, Vanderbilt got past #24 Boston College, 16-14 in the Music City Bowl, and LSU decimated #14 Georgia Tech, 38-3 in the Chick-Fil-A Bowl.

SALT LAKE CITY (AP)—Luke Nevill had 15 points and procured a crucial rebound in the closing seconds to help the Utah Utes get past the #16 Gonzaga Bulldogs, 66-65 Wednesday at the Huntsman Center in Top 25 mens’ college basketball action. Luke Drca added 14 points and seven assists for Utah who improved to 8-5 on the season. Jeremy Pargo and Steven Gray each had 14 for the Bulldogs, who have lost three games in a row to drop to 8-4 on the season. In other Top 25 action Wednesday, #1 North Carolina crushed Nevada, 84-61, #3 Pittsburgh edged Rutgers, 78-72, #5 Duke hammered Loyola (Md.), 92-51, #10 Notre Dame outgunned DePaul, 92-82, #15 Michigan State bested #21 Minnesota, 70-58, UNLV upset #18 Louisville, 56-55, #20 Baylor obliterated Jackson State, 113-78, #22 Xavier smacked Robert Morris, 78-57, #23 Ohio State held off Iowa, 68-65 and Wisconsin stunned #24 Michigan, 73-61.

(RICHFIELD) – A Sixth District Court Judge is retiring at the end of the year. Judge David L. Mower said he’s grateful to have been part of a system that gives people the right to have their day in court. Judge Mower was appointed to the Sixth District by then Gov. Norm Bangerter on Dec. 23, 1986. In his 22 year tenure, Judge Mower helped with the establishment of the Sevier County Drug Court and presided over a number of high profile cases, including the murder trial of Morris Mullins. Mower is also involved with community events and played a key role in the annual volunteer production of the “Messiah” and is also part of the Aspen Heart Choir, who performed Monday afternoon in an open house for Mower at the District Court in Richfield. Mower resides in Richfield with his wife, Diane, who have seven children and nine grandchildren. Mower will be replaced by Richfield Attorney, Marvin D. Bagley, who will take the oath of office on Jan. 6, 2009 at the Piute County Courthouse.

(RICHFIELD) – Nutritionists worldwide are advising people to get healthier in 2009. Sevier Valley Hospital Administrator, Gary Beck, says studies show that people need to get more fiber into their diet. He says studies show that by eating more whole grain cereal, heart disease can be reduced by 35%. Beck also said that having a healthier lifestyle can reduce the risk of breast, ovarian, colorectal and pancreatic cancers. He reminded people that Sevier Valley Hospital is sponsoring a Health Fair in January. The Health Fair will provide free health screenings, as well as blood pressure and cholesterol tests and will be held Thursday, Jan. 8, 2009 from 5-7pm at the Snow College Richfield Campus in the Administration Building.

BOISE, Idaho (AP)—Da’Rel Scott scored a pair of touchdowns in the fourth quarter and ran for 174 yards in 2 ½ quarters of action as the Maryland Terrapins got past the Nevada Wolf Pack, 42-35 Tuesday in the Humanitarian Bowl at Bronco Stadium. Scott and six other Maryland starters violated curfew and his efforts were instrumental in helping the Terps run for 258 yards in the win. Colin Kaepernick tossed for 370 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions in a losing effort for the Wolf Pack as they finished the season with a mark of 7-6. The win enabled Maryland to finish the season with a record of 8-5. In other bowl action Tuesday, Rice hammered Western Michigan, 38-14 in the Texas Bowl and Oregon outgunned Oklahoma State, 42-31 in the Holiday Bowl.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP)—Michael Washington had 24 points and 11 rebounds while converted football player Marcus Monk chipped in with 12 points as the Arkansas Razorbacks stymied the #4 Oklahoma Sooners, 96-88 Tuesday at Bud Walton Arena. The win improved the Razorbacks to 10-1 on the season despite losing 86 percent of their scoring from a year ago as they handed the Sooners their first loss of the season. Willie Warren had 35 points to pace Oklahoma in defeat while Blake Griffin pitched in with 21 points and 13 rebounds for the Sooners. In other Top 25 action Tuesday, #6 Wake Forest hammered Radford, 83-61, #11 Syracuse crushed Seton Hall, 100-76, Illinois stunned #11 Purdue, 71-67 in overtime, and #16 Clemson outgunned South Carolina, 98-87.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Canada (AP)—Jeff Carter, Scott Hartnell, and Jonathon Kalinski each scored goals as the Philadelphia Flyers edged the Vancouver Canucks, 3-2 Tuesday at General Motors Place. The win improved the Flyers to 20-10-7 on the season, while the Canucks fell to 20-15-3. In other NHL action Tuesday, Washington doubled up Buffalo, 4-2, Detroit blanked Chicago, 4-0, Boston blasted Pittsburgh, 5-2, Montreal ousted Tampa Bay, 2-1 in a shootout, Toronto outlasted Atlanta, 4-3 in overtime, New Jersey bested St. Louis, 4-3, and Ottawa handled Edmonton, 3-2.

(Manti) The National Bureau of Economic Research announced earlier this month that the country has officially been in a recession for a year now. According to a recent survey, one in four small business owners fears that their business won’t survive the slowdown. Alan Christensen from the Snow College Small Business Development Center has some pointers for keeping a business solvent during hard times. His suggestions include protecting cash flow, reviewing inventory management practices, increasing and streamlining marketing, and avoiding scams. Businesses that are most likely to weather a recession are those that provide essential items and services, or cheaper alternatives that can be used as substitutes for items that people can no longer afford.

SAN ANTONIO (AP)—Despite tossing for only 200 yards and throwing more interceptions than touchdowns, Missouri quarterback Chase Daniel still left an imprint in his last game in college. Daniel’s 7-yard touchdown pass to Jeremy Maclin in overtime lifted the #21 Tigers past the #23 Northwestern Wildcats, 30-23 Monday in the Alamo Bowl. The lead changed hands three times in regulation as Northwestern took an early 10-3 lead behind a 35-yard touchdown reception by Eric Peterman, and a 21-yard Amado Villareal field goal. Nevertheless, the Tigers tied things up at 10-10 apiece on Maclin’s 75-yard punt return for a score in the second quarter. In the third quarter, the Wildcats took the lead once again as C.J. Bacher (27 of 43, 304 yards, 3 TD’s, INT) hit Ross Lane on a 23-yard scoring strike to go up 23-20. However, Missouri responded with the last 10 points of the game as Jeff Wolfert’s 37-yard field goal sent it into overtime and set the stage for Maclin and Daniel’s heroics. In other bowl action Monday, Rutgers downed North Carolina State, 29-23 in the Papa John’s.com Bowl.

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP)—DaJuan Summers had 18 points while Chris Wright and Greg Monroe each added 16 points as the #8 Georgetown Hoyas gashed the #2 Connecticut Huskies, 74-63 Monday at XL Center. Georgetown seized control from the opening tip as they swiftly built an 18-3 lead by nailing four of fiver 3-pointers to start the game. The victory was the Hoyas’ eighth straight victory in a Big East opener and the fifth such under head coach John Thompson III. Additionally, Georgetown is 14-1 when Summers scores at least 17 points and 10-1 when Wright scores in double figures. A.J. Price had 16 points while Jeff Adrien added 15 more in the loss for the Huskies. In other Top 25 mens’ college basketball action Monday, #13 Villanova pounded Temple, 62-45, #14 Arizona State hammered Central Connecticut State, 84-47, #18 Tennessee shellacked Louisiana-Lafayette, 89-62, #20 Baylor smoked Portland State, 79-66, and #24 Michigan decimated UNC-Central, 77-57.

CALGARY, Alberta, Canada (AP)—Eric Nystrom scored a key goal in the third period as the Calgary Flames surged past the Minnesota Wild, 2-1 Monday at the Pengrowth Saddledome. Daymond Langkow added another goal for the Flames while Mikka Kiprusoff posted 22 saves in the win for Calgary which improved them to 21-11-4 on the season. Stephane Veilleux scored the sole goal for the Wild as they dropped to 17-16-2 with the loss. In other NHL action Monday, the New York Rangers edged the New York Islanders, 5-4, Montreal smacked Florida, 5-2, San Jose stymied Dallas, 3-1, Colorado trounced Nashville, 5-1, and Columbus blanked Los Angeles, 2-0.

(FREMONT JCT.) – Several California travelers were injured Friday morning on I-70. A UHP report said that at about 10:30am, a Toyota Scion was parked on the eastbound shoulder of I-70 near Fremont Jct., when a Chevy Silverado, traveling east, lost control and went off the right shoulder, running over the foot of an occupant standing outside of the Toyota and hitting the vehicle. The driver of the Toyota, 23-year old, Elizabeth Koechling of Orange, CA. and 49-year old, Lizann Koechling of Murrieta, CA. were both wearing seatbelts and were transported to the Sevier Valley Hospital with minor injuries. Lizann was standing outside of the Toyota when the Chevy ran over her foot and hit the car. The Chevy driver, 40-year old, Stefani Conrado of Murrieta, CA. was also transported to the Sevier Valley Hospital with minor injuries.

LOS ANGELES (AP)—Josh Howard posted 29 points, nine rebounds and seven assists as the Dallas Mavericks, despite the absence of Dirk Nowitzki, overpowered the Los Angeles Clippers, 98-76 Sunday at STAPLES Center. Because he received a flagrant-2 foul last Friday at Utah, Nowitzki was suspended but the Mavs were fine in his absence as they outrebounded the Clippers, 53-38 in the dominant performance. The win improved Dallas to 18-12 on the season, while Los Angeles fell to 8-21. In other NBA action Sunday, Denver got past New York, 117-110, Cleveland bested Miami, 93-86, New Orleans edged Indiana, 105-103, Boston embarrassed Sacramento, 108-63 and the Los Angeles Lakers trounced Golden State, 130-113.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP)—Terence Williams amassed 21 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists and the #19 Louisville Cardinals hammered the Alabama-Birmingham Blazers, 82-62 Saturday at Freedom Hall in mens’ Top 25 basketball action. Samardo Samuels pitched in with 17 points and 11 boards as Rick Pitino’s Cards improved to 8-2 on the season. The legendary Pitino promised changes after Louisville’s loss to Minnesota last Saturday at Glendale, Ariz. and the tweaks he made proved successful as new starters Jared Swopshire and Preston Knowles combined for 16 points in 34 minutes. Meanwhile, the players they replaced, Earl Clark and Andre McGee, combined for 25 points in their own right. Robert Vaden had 22 points to pace the Blazers in defeat as they fell to 8-4. In other Top 25 action Saturday, West Virginia embarrassed #13 Ohio State, 76-48 and #18 Michigan State blasted Oakland, 82-66.

DALLAS (AP)—Mike Modano scored the winning goal at 3:34 of overtime and the Dallas Stars surged past the Anaheim Ducks, 4-3 Saturday at American Airlines Center. The game was a back and forth affair which saw the squads match each other goal for goal before Mike Ribeiro’s goal for Dallas forced overtime with things tied up at 3-3 apiece. The win kept the Stars’ hot streak alive as they are 5-1-1 in their last seven games and they improved to 15-14-5 on the season. Brendan Morrison had two goals for the Ducks while Chris Kunitz added another in a loss that dropped Anaheim to 18-14-4. In other NHL action Saturday, Buffalo got past the New York Islanders, 4-3 in a shootout, Boston doubled up Carolina, 4-2, Montreal edged Pittsburgh, 3-2, Columbus blanked Philadelphia, 3-0, New Jersey stymied the New York Rangers, 4-2, Tampa Bay outgunned Florida, 6-4, St. Louis gashed San Jose, 3-2 in overtime, Colorado handled Detroit, 4-3 in a shootout, Los Angeles overpowered Phoenix, 4-0, and Calgary stonewalled Ottawa, 6-3.

SALT LAKE CITY (AP)—Ronnie Brewer had 21 points and Kosta Koufos posted a career-high 18 points as the shorthanded Utah Jazz downed the Dallas Mavericks, 97-89 Friday at Energy Solutions Arena. With Carlos Boozer, Mehmet Okur and Paul Millsap all out with injuries, the Jazz were still able to cool off the high-flying Mavs who were coming off a 102-94 win at Portland Thursday. Additionally, Andrei Kirilenko snared 14 rebounds in a rare starting role for the Jazz as the franchise won their 18th game of the season. Jason Terry had 26 points to pace the Mavericks in the loss. In other NBA action Friday, Miami bested Chicago, 90-77, Charlotte overpowered New Jersey, 95-87, Minnesota outgunned New York, 120-107, New Orleans gashed Houston, 88-79, Detroit held off Oklahoma City, 90-88, Memphis surged past Indiana, 108-105, Denver blew past Philadelphia, 105-101, Toronto ousted Sacramento, 107-101, and Golden State upset Boston, 99-89.

(FT. GREEN) – A voltage-control problem knocked out power for over 10,000 customers early Christmas morning, including the Ft. Green area and Nephi. Rocky Mountain Power said that at 9:00 this morning, about 400 customers were still without power in Ft. Green, Nephi and parts of the Salt Lake valley. The Salt Lake outages were expected to continue today as crews locate and repair bad underground cables in West Valley City near Decker Lake. RMP officials say they hope to have those problems fixed before the end of the day. The outage count around Utah reached 10,000 on Christmas morning between 9 and 10am when crews discovered a voltage-control problem at an Oquirrh power substation in West Jordan. RMP reported that power outages varied between 4,000 and 6,000 through Christmas day with many occurring in the Salt Lake area. A problem with a transmission line in Tremonton also cut power to 1400 customers on Thursday.

(SALINA) – Three Minnesota men were arrested on drug charges in Salina Tuesday afternoon. A police report said that at about 2:45pm, Officer Eric Pratt stopped a 1992 Buick passenger car near the Scenic Quick Stop off the I-70 Interchange in Salina for making an illegal turn and having no visible license plate. During the stop, Pratt noticed the odor of marijuana in the vehicle and alerted a K-9 Unit. UHP Trooper Nick Bowles’ dog indicated on the trunk of the car and a half-pound plastic bag of marijuana was found in a bucket labeled “kitty litter”. Further investigation turned up 15 more plastic bags containing approximately eight pounds of marijuana. The driver, 19-year old, Zachary Voss of Iron, MN. was arrested, along with 45-year old, Martin Voss and 20-year old, Rock Tomassoni, also of Iron. All were booked into the Sevier County Jail on charges of possession of marijuana with intent to distribute.

HONOLULU (AP)- Jimmy Clausen tossed for a Notre Dame bowl record 401 yards and five scores as the Notre Dame Fighting Irish won their first bowl game since 1994 with a 49-21 rout of the Hawai’I Warriors Wednesday at Aloha Stadium. The Irish blew the game open with a 21-point burst in the second quarter which saw Golden Tate (six receptions, 177 yards, 3 TD’s) haul in two touchdown receptions for an insurmountable 28-7 Notre Dame lead at halftime. The win enabled the Irish to end the season with a mark of 7-6, while the Warriors fell to 7-7.

(Manti) The Sanpete County Commission has approved the budget for the 2009 fiscal year. The Total budget amounts to thirteen and a half million dollars with almost eleven million of that going to cover the general fund. That amounts to a nineteen percent increase over the 2008 general fund. The largest increase is due to increased operating costs for the new jail. Commissioners also increased the amount going towards road projects by over three-hundred thousand dollars. According to Commissioners, the increases have not come at the price of higher taxes. County taxes are expected to remain the same as in 2008. Commissioners were able to allow for increases by cutting back in other areas.

SAN DIEGO (AP)—Joseph Turner had a 17-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter and the #11 Texas Christian Horned Frogs overcame a 10-0 deficit to edge the #9 Boise State Broncos, 17-16 Tuesday in the Poinsettia Bowl at Qualcomm Stadium. Although the Horned Frogs outgained the Broncos, 472-250, but it took until the fourth quarter to wear down the rugged Boise State defense. The win was the 41st amassed by Texas Christian’s seniors which makes them the winningest class in school history. Ian Johnson scored the 58th touchdown of his career in the loss for the Broncos to surpass Marshall Faulk’s record which incidentally was forged on the same field where the game took place as Faulk matriculated at San Diego State. Although Boise State has been the most impressive Division I program of the past decade, the loss dropped the Broncos to 4-10 against ranked teams since their move up to D-I in 1996.

MILWAUKEE (AP)—Michael Redd posted 27 points and six rebounds and the Milwaukee Bucks won their third in a row and fifth of their last six as they handled the Utah Jazz, 94-86 Tuesday at Bradley Center. Luke Ridnour added 11 points and 11 assists for the Bucks who improved to 14-16 with the win. Andrei Kirilenko had 22 points for the Jazz in the loss while Deron Williams chipped in with 17 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. In other NBA action Tuesday, Atlanta bested Oklahoma City, 99-88, Cleveland got past Houston, 99-90, New Jersey edged Indiana, 108-107, Charlotte stymied Washington, 80-72, Boston stonewalled Philadelphia, 110-91, Miami torched Golden State, 96-88, the Los Angeles Lakers tripped up New Orleans, 100-87, Detroit held off Chicago, 104-98, Dallas trounced Memphis, 100-82, San Antonio blew past Minnesota, 99-93 and Portland ousted Denver, 101-92.

CEDAR CITY, Utah (AP)—Richard Munford had 23 points including the game-winning basket as the Canyon View Falcons edged the Delta Rabbits, 39-37 Tuesday in non-region boys basketball action. Nick Nissen had 16 points in the loss for Delta.

MANTI, Utah (AP)—Griffin Aste amassed 26 points and 13 rebounds as the Manti Templars walloped the Juab Wasps, 67-51 in non-region boys basketball action Tuesday. Kyler Jones had 22 points to pace the Wasps in the loss.

KANAB, Utah (AP)—Trac Norris keyed a balanced scoring attack with 15 points to lead the Panguitch Bobcats to a 61-49 win over the Kanab Cowboys Tuesday in non-region boys basketball action. Rhees Jackson posted 24 points in the loss for Kanab.

JUNCTION, Utah (AP)—Kelton Price had 16 points and the Piute Thunderbirds used a 23-16 spurt in the third quarter to get past the Beaver Beavers, 63-55 in non-region boys basketball action Tuesday. Haydn Jessup had 15 points to lead the way for the Beavers.

GUNNISON, Utah (AP)—Bailie Reynolds posted 14 points and the Gunnison Lady Bulldogs finished the game on a 16-4 run to dismantle the Juab Lady Wasps, 45-29 in non-region girls basketball action Tuesday.

PAROWAN, Utah (AP)—The North Sevier Lady Wolves started the game on an 11-4 run and never looked back as they gashed the Parowan Lady Rams, 48-31 Tuesday in non-region girls basketball action.

MILFORD, Utah (AP)—Sheyenne Cornforth posted 18 points and Deysha Twitchell added 15 more as the Bryce Valley Lady Mustangs improved to 12-0 by shellacking the Milford Lady Tigers, 48-20 in Region 15 girls basketball action Tuesday.

PANGUITCH, Utah (AP)—Kalani Norris’ 15 points led the way for the Panguitch Lady Bobcats as they edged the Valley Lady Buffaloes, 38-34 Tuesday in Region 15 girls basketball action.

(WASHINGTON D.C.) – The nation’s top environmental administrator says there’s no reason to regulate the greenhouse gas emissions of coal-fired power plants. EPA Administrator, Steven Johnson, issued a memo stating that with the regulations, more than 20 different industrial sectors, along with offices, schools, apartments and hospitals, might be subject to “costly and inflexible permitting requirements.” Green groups say the administrator has dropped a “lump of dirty coal” in American’s Christmas stockings with the memo and an attempt in a last-minute effort to influence policy before the Obama administration takes office. The ruling could have an effect on two other proposed coal-fired power plants up for review in Utah including, a 270-megawatt plant near Sigurd and a 900-megawatt Unit Three at IPP in Delta. In 2007, the U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way for regulating greenhouse gases under the clean-air law.

WACO, Texas (AP)—Curtis Jerrells amassed 17 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists in posting the fourth triple-double in Baylor basketball history as the #22 Bears hammered Hartford, 74-59 Monday at Ferrell Center. Jerrells’ triple double was the first for the program since current Los Angeles Clipper Brian Skinner accomplished the feat against Eastern Washington in November of 1997. Additionally, Henry Dugat had 16 for the Bears, while Tweety Carter and LaceDarius Dunn each had 14 points for Baylor. The Bears also shot 51 percent from the field on the night as they improved to 10-1 on the season. Jaret von Rosenberg had 19 points in the loss for the Hawks, which dropped them to 4-8. In other Top 25 action Monday, # 4 Oklahoma got past Rice, 70-58, #6 Wake Forest decimated East Carolina, 95-54, #11 Notre Dame trounced Savannah State, 81-49, #13 Ohio State dismantled UNC-Asheville, 83-59, #14 Syracuse surged past Coppin State, 82-71, #15 Purdue mowed over IPFW, 70-55, #16 Villanova downed Navy, 78-68, #24 Memphis shellacked Drexel, 87-49, and #25 Marquette outlasted North Carolina State, 68-65.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Canada (AP)—Daniel Sedin had two key goals and the Vancouver Canucks downed the Anaheim Ducks, 4-3 Monday at General Motors Place. After Sedin’s second goal, the Canucks led 4-1 before Anaheim went on mini run behind goals by Scott Niedermayer and Samuel Pahlsson. In other NHL action Monday, Pittsburgh edged Buffalo, 4-3 in overtime, Toronto hammered Atlanta, 6-2, and Edmonton doubled up Phoenix, 4-2.

(RICHFIELD) – The Sevier County Sheriff’s Office has overhauled the Search and Rescue organization in the county. Sheriff Phil Barney says he, along with Search and Rescue committee members, a County Commissioner and County Attorney, met together to discuss the changes. He wanted the public to understand that the re-organization of Search and Rescue does not mean that search and rescue is being discontinued. Committee members have expressed concern that the Sheriff’s Office is trying to get rid of several members through an application process. Barney said the application process is for specialized teams the county is attempting to organize, not for present members. He said that Search and Rescue will continue in its present form until April 1, 2009.

(RICHFIELD) – Sevier County Deputies are investigating several complaints of vandalism over the weekend. A sheriff’s report said that ornaments were stolen from a Monroe residence and decorations were destroyed and ripped off a fence at an Annabella residence. Another report was taken of prowlers stealing gifts and stashing them away in hiding places. Deputies are asking the public to be aware of suspicious activity and report it. They say, if caught, the suspects could face vandalism and theft charges and would be required to pay restitution to the property owners.

(SALT LAKE CITY) – Utah BLM officials say their quarterly oil and gas lease sale on Friday was a success in spite of bidding being stopped for a short time due to “tainted” bidding. A BLM report said that Special Agents detained two registered bidders who are being questioned in an apparent effort to impede the bidding process. The BLM sold 116 of the 131 offered parcels, totaling 148,600 acres of federal land located in Carbon, Emery, Garfield, Grand, San Juan and Uintah Counties. BLM received $7,234,578 in bonus bids for the federal oil and gas lease rights. In addition to the bonus bids, the sale netted $222,951 in rental fees and $16,240 in administrative fees, for $7,473,770 in total revenues for this lease sale. Enduring Resources, LLC of Denver, submitted the highest total bid per acre and the highest total bid per parcel on parcel 137 containing 2,195 acres in the Vernal Field Office. The total bid per acre was $270 for a total amount of $592,650 on the parcel.

GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP)—James Harden had 30 points and the #17 Arizona State Sun Devils earned a controversial 76-75 win over the Brigham Young Cougars Saturday at University of Phoenix Stadium. Harden had 21 of his points in the second half which saw Arizona State erase a five-point deficit at halftime. After Harden’s two free throws in the closing seconds, the Sun Devils took their first lead of the second half and it appeared that the Cougars would steal the win as a shot attempt by Charles Abouo seemed to beat the buzzer. Nevertheless, a review annulled his basket and Arizona State escaped with a win that improved them to 9-1. Jonathan Tavernari had 24 points for the Cougars in the loss which was their first of the season as they fell to 10-1. In other Top 25 action Saturday, #1 North Carolina crushed Valparaiso, 85-63, #2 Connecticut outlasted #8 Gonzaga, 88-83 in overtime, #4 Oklahoma handled Virginia Commonwealth, 81-70, #22 Michigan State surged past #5 Texas, 67-63, #6 Duke pounded #7 Xavier, 82-64, Minnesota upset #9 Louisville, 70-64, #11 Syracuse bested #21 Memphis, 72-65, #12 UCLA trounced Mercer, 76-59, #13 Georgetown stymied Mount Saint Mary’s, 69-58, #14 Notre Dame shellacked Delaware State, 88-50, #16 Ohio State gashed Iona, 71-53, #18 Purdue stonewalled #20 Davidson, 76-58, #19 Tennessee escaped against Belmont, 79-77 and #24 Baylor tripped up Texas-Arlington, 79-76.

LAS VEGAS (AP)—Willie Tuitama completed 24 of 35 passes for 325 yards and a pair of scores as the Arizona Wildcats upset the #16 Brigham Young Cougars, 31-21 Saturday at Sam Boyd Stadium in the Las Vegas Bowl. The Wildcats raced out to a 10-0 lead in the second quarter as Nicholas Grigsby ran for a 1-yard score and Jason Bondzio nailed a 31-yard field goal. The Cougars then made their surge as Harvey Unga had a 1-yard touchdown run and Andrew George hauled in a touchdown pass from Max Hall (30 of 46, 328 yards, TD, INT) from a yard out for a 14-10 Brigham Young lead. Arizona then seized control for good as Tuitama hit Delashaun Dean and Chris Gronkowski on scoring tosses and ran for a 6-yard score of his own to give the Wildcats an insurmountable 31-14 lead. The win was the first in a bowl for Arizona since the 1998 Holiday Bowl against Nebraska which completed what was arguably the most successful season in program history. In other bowl action Saturday, Wake Forest downed Navy, 29-19 in the Eaglebank Bowl, Colorado State outgunned Fresno State, 40-35 in the New Mexico Bowl, and South Florida hammered Memphis, 41-14 in the St. Petersburg Bowl.

GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP)—Steve Reinprecht and Mikkel Boedker each had goals as the Phoenix Coyotes blanked the Columbus Blue Jackets, 2-0 Saturday at Jobing.com Arena. Ilya Bryzgalov added 31 saves for the Coyotes as they improved to 16-13-4 on the season while Columbus fell to 14-15-4. In other NHL action Saturday, Boston edged Carolina, 4-2, Philadelphia hammered Washington, 7-1, Detroit handled Los Angeles, 6-4, Montreal got past Buffalo, 4-3 in overtime, Ottawa downed Dallas, 5-4 in overtime, Toronto gashed Pittsburgh, 7-3, Atlanta tripped up Tampa Bay, 4-3, Nashville ousted the New York Islanders, 1-0, St. Louis bested Minnesota, 4-2, Chicago snuck past Vancouver, 3-1 and San Jose outlasted the New York Rangers, 3-2.

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP)—Jayne Appel had 15 points for the #4 Stanford Lady Cardinal as they obliterated the South Carolina Lady Gamecocks, 78-47 Friday in Top 25 womens’ college basketball action. The loss was the 20th in a row for South Carolina against a Top 25 opponent. In other Top 25 action Friday, #12 Duke surged past USC, 97-89 in overtime, #1 Connecticut torched Northern Colorado, 85-40, #10 Auburn bested George Washington, 65-51, #14 Rutgers embarrassed Lafayette, 61-29, #19 Pittsburgh hammered Florida A&M, 89-59, #20 Vanderbilt handled Tennessee State, 98-82, and #23 Oklahoma State edged Southern Mississippi, 75-72.

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (AP)—Eric Ward caught a touchdown pass and threw for another while the Richmond Spiders’ defense amassed seven sacks in a 24-7 dismantling of the Montana Grizzlies Friday at Finley Stadium which gave them the Division I-AA (FCS) national championship. The Spiders used a ball-hawking defense (which forced two turnovers) and efficient play from Ward and tailback Josh Vaughn to build a 21-0 lead en route to their first championship of any kind in the athletic department’s history. Although the Big Sky Conference-affiliated Grizzlies moved the ball at will, they were doomed by their pair of turnovers and a missed field goal by Brody McKnight after a drive deep into Spiders territory. Marc Mariani had seven receptions for 172 yards in the loss for Montana while Richmond coach Mike London earned the crown in his first season at the helm of his alma mater’s program.

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EDMONTON, Alberta, Canada (AP)—Corey Perry had two goals including the game-winner in a shootout as the Anaheim Ducks outlasted the Edmonton Oilers, 3-2 Friday at Rexall Place. The Ducks took a 2-0 lead behind goals by Perry and Rob Niedermayer but the Oilers responded with a pair of third period scores from Kyle Brodziak and Erik Cole to force the extra session. The win improved the Ducks to 18-12-3 on the season, while the Oilers slumped to 14-14-3. In other NHL action Friday, New Jersey pounded Ottawa, 5-1, Buffalo blanked Los Angeles, 5-0, Minnesota waxed the New York Islanders, 4-1, and Chicago outlasted Calgary, 3-2 in overtime.

(RICHFIELD) – A vehicle transporting ten illegal immigrants crashed on I-70 Wednesday morning near Sevier. UHP reports say the driver was in a 1998 Toyota minivan traveling westbound at about 8:15am, when he ran off the road to the right, overcorrected and headed into the median, hitting several large rocks, which disabled the vehicle. No injuries were reported in the accident. The UHP report stated that some of the immigrants were wearing seatbelts and some were not. I.C.E. was contacted to take custody of the immigrants for violations.

(RICHFIELD) – The Sevier School District Board of Education has revised policies concerning parental involvement in their children’s education and school safety. Board President, Don Naser, says nothing matches parents involving themselves more in their child’s education. He said the policy revisions include more specific language as to how parents can involve themselves more in their child’s education, including providing vital information to school officials concerning their child’s strengths, challenges and accomplishments. Naser also said the school board is interested in supporting and encouraging responsible parenting, strengthening the parent’s role in the learning process and welcoming parents as volunteers at the school.

(BEAVER) – A fire caused extensive damage to a Beaver home Thursday morning. Assistant Beaver Fire Chief, Jack Erwig, said the roof caved in over the living room and there was extensive water damage. No one was home at the time of the fire. Erwig said the fire is believed to have started in a pellet stove. The fire spread through the one-story home’s attic space. A report said the firefighters battled cold temperatures as well as the flames, which caused an estimated $200,000 in damage. Six fire engines responded to the fire along with 14 firefighters who took two hours to control the flames. Erwig said colder temperatures made it a little harder on fire crews but the fire also didn’t burn as hot.

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP)—Josh Heytvelt had 21 points and seven rebounds and the #7 Gonzaga Bulldogs shellacked the Texas Southern Tigers, 84-42 Thursday at the McCarthey Athletic Center. Although temperatures were frigid in northeast Washington, the Bulldogs were on fire as they nailed 53 percent of their shots on the night and raced to a commanding 53-19 lead at halftime. The win improved Gonzaga to 8-1 on the season and set the stage for a huge game Saturday against #2 Connecticut in Seattle. In other Top 25 action Thursday, #1 North Carolina pounded Evansville, 91-73 and #9 Louisville got past Mississippi, 77-68.

TAMPA, Fla. (AP)—Milan Hejduk earned the only goal in a shootout period after Tampa Bay’s goalie Mike Smith threw his stick and the Colorado Avalanche edged the Lightning, 2-1 Thursday at the St. Pete Times Forum. Paul Stastny scored for Colorado in regulation as did the Lightning’s Jeff Halpern, but in the shootout, Smith’s gaffe caused Tampa Bay to fall short. The win improved the Avalanche to 16-15-1, while the Lightning fell to 7-15-9. In other NHL action Thursday, Boston outgunned Toronto, 8-5, Carolina doubled up Florida, 2-1 in overtime, Montreal torched Philadelphia, 5-2, Washington gashed St. Louis, 4-2, Pittsburgh smacked Atlanta, 6-3, Detroit blanked San Jose, 6-0, Dallas outlasted Columbus, 6-5 in a shootout, and Phoenix downed Nashville, 2-1.

DELTA, Utah (AP)—Josh Eliason posted 24 points and Nick Nissen chipped in with 18 more as the Delta Rabbits surged past the Grantsville Cowboys, 68-52 Thursday at the Palladium in non-region boys basketball action.

JUNCTION, Utah (AP)—Tyce Peterson had a game-high 24 points and Trevor Taylor added 17 more as the Wayne Badgers outlasted the Piute Thunderbirds, 62-60 in Region 15 boys basketball action Thursday. Tyson Westwood’s 17 points paced the Thunderbirds in defeat.

TROPIC, Utah (AP)—Max Hoyt’s 23 points led the way for the Valley Buffaloes as they decimated the Bryce Valley Mustangs, 71-37 Thursday in Region 15 boys basketball action.

MOUNT PLEASANT, Utah (AP)—Erica Draper had 14 points and 16 rebounds and Kara Anderson added 15 more points as the North Sanpete Lady Hawks got past the Spanish Fork Lady Dons, 50-40 Thursday in non-region girls basketball action.

(MONROE) – The Monroe City Fire Department along with Sevier County Sheriff’s Deputies responded to a chimney fire last night in Monroe. The fire was reported at about 8:30pm at the home of Trent Bohle at 1180 East 2650 North. A sheriff’s report said that Bohle and his son were watching TV when he noticed his house was filling with smoke. The fire department was called and crews were able to put out the chimney fire. No one was injured and no damage was reported to the residence.

(RICHFIELD) – Richfield City Mayor, Brad Ramsay, has provided a State of the City report for the past year and the outlook for the coming year. Ramsay said the local economy in the next six months may be challenging. He says he’s proud of the projects that were completed this year including, College Avenue, the Rotary Park parking lot, Block 45 and golf course improvements. Ramsay said that with the downturn in the economy, new business coming to the city has slowed. He commented that several projects are budgeted and on schedule for 2009 including, the airport and sewer expansion projects, Vet Memorial and the new Business Park development. Ramsay hopes the economy will bounce back enough to get those projects completed.

LOS ANGELES (AP)—Michael Roll had 12 points and scored all of his points on four 3-pointers while the #14 UCLA Bruins nailed 11 treys overall to crush the Loyola Marymount Lions, 75-44 Wednesday at Pauley Pavilion. Darren Collison chipped in with 11 more points for the Bruins who improved to 7-2 on the season. UCLA punctuated their dominance of the West Coat Conference-based Lions by outrebounding them, 48-34. LaRon Armstead’s 18 points led the way for the 0-11 Lions, which is their worst start since the 1979-80 campaign which saw them drop their first 20 games. In other Top 25 action Wednesday, #3 Pittsburgh bested Siena, 79-66, #6 Duke hammered UNC-Asheville, 99-56, #11 Syracuse shellacked Canisius, 82-60, #16 Ohio State got past Jacksonville, 81-68, #21 Memphis outlasted Arkansas-Little Rock, 59-51, and #22 Michigan State trounced Citadel, 79-65.

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP)—Todd Bertuzzi scored the winning goal in overtime and the Calgary Flames ousted the Minnesota Wild, 3-2 Wednesday at Xcel Energy Center. Daymond Langkow and Craig Conroy added goals for the Flames, while Mikka Kiprusoff posted 25 saves for Calgary in his continual mastery of the Wild. The win improved the Flames to 18-11-3 on the season while Minnesota fell to 15-13-2. In other NHL action Wednesday, New Jersey smacked Buffalo, 5-3, Columbus doubled up San Jose, 2-1 in overtime, the New York Rangers edged Los Angeles, 3-2, and Vancouver humbled Edmonton, 4-2.

(Fairview) The Fairview City Council has filled the council seat left vacant when Jonathan Benson was selected to replace Spencer Cox as mayor. Four people applied for the opening and were interviewed by the city council at their meeting Tuesday night. Planning Committee Chairman Bob Nielsen was selected and will fill the one year term starting in January. The vacancy in the Planning Committee will be filled at some point in the future by the council. The vacancies stem from the election of current Mayor Spencer Cox to the Sanpete County Commission in November.

(SALT LAKE CITY) – Two dozen school districts in Utah have applied for grants to retrofit school buses to help improve air quality. Utah Department of Environmental Quality Spokesperson, Donna Spangler, says the pollution control devices should help the kids breathe easier. Washington County and Murray School Districts are two of 22 school districts statewide that have begun the process of retrofitting diesel-powered school buses with pollution control devices with grants provided by community, state and federal partners to improve air quality. School districts have applied for grants totaling $2.39-million to begin installing a diesel oxidation catalyst and closed crankcase ventilation systems, intended to reduce tailpipe emissions that capture pollutants. Events at the separate schools today kicked off the installation of such devices from the approved vendors.

(ST. GEORGE) – An elementary school north of St. George closed Tuesday due to snowy conditions. A road report said that students at Diamond Valley Elementary were not allowed to go to school because conditions were too treacherous on S-R 18. Another report said that middle and high school students were also asked to stay home in the community about 15 miles north of St. George. Weathermen reported the closures were rare during the second day of an unusual winter blast that has hit Washington County, which attracts large numbers of snowbirds each winter to enjoy normally mild weather and sunny days. Students in other communities along the highway, including Gunlock and Veyo, were bussed to St. George for classes, but experienced two-hour delays. Washington County School District Human Resources Director, Lyle Cox, said the closures and delays impacted between 350 to 400 of the district’s 24,000 students. Cox said he expects operations of the district’s 100 buses to return to normal today (Wednesday).

WACO, Texas (AP)—Danielle Wilson posted 23 points, 11 rebounds and five blocks to lead the #7 Baylor Lady Bears to a 73-27 hammering of the Texas-Pan American Lady Broncs Tuesday in Top 25 womens’ basketball action. Morgan Medlock added 11 points and 11 rebounds for Baylor as the Lady Bears improved to 10-1 on the season. Baylor also outrebounded the Lady Broncs, 50-21 in their dominant performance. In other Top 25 action Tuesday, #12 Duke edged #4 Stanford, 56-52, #17 Ohio State crushed Delaware State, 68-35 #19 Pittsburgh trounced Wagner, 98-41 and #23 Oklahoma State gashed Oral Roberts, 58-48.

LOS ANGELES (AP)—Kobe Bryant had nine of his 28 points in the last seven minutes of regulation and Trevor Ariza scored the go-ahead basket with 1:03 left as the Los Angeles Lakers outlasted the New York Knickerbockers, 116-114 Tuesday at STAPLES Center. Nate Robinson amassed a season-high 33 points in the loss for New York. In other NBA action Tuesday, Charlotte gashed Chicago, 110-101 in overtime, the Los Angeles Clippers stymied Oklahoma City, 98-88, New Orleans blasted Memphis, 91-84, Houston overpowered Denver, 108-96, and Portland decimated Sacramento, 109-77.

BEAVER, Utah (AP)—Chamaya Kia’s 14 points and six steals led the way for the Beaver Lady Beavers in a 51-40 win over the Juab Lady Wasps Tuesday in non-region girls basketball action.

DELTA, Utah (AP)—Kelsi Wells had 21 points as the Grantsville Cowgirls bested the Delta Lady Rabbits, 61-55 in non-region girls basketball action Tuesday at the Palladium.

MANTI, Utah (AP)—Sarah Wallingford had 12 points but it wasn’t enough as the North Sanpete Lady Hawks trounced the Manti Lady Templars, 65-41 Tuesday in non-region girls basketball action.

HURRICANE, Utah (AP)—Jaquel Christensen posted 17 points and the Richfield Lady Wildcats improved to 6-0 on the season with a 53-43 win over the Hurricane Lady Tigers in non-region girls basketball action Tuesday. Megan Clyde had a game-high 29 points in defeat for Hurricane.

(RICHFIELD) – A Richfield youth escaped injury Monday morning in a rollover on Heppler’s Pond Road southeast of Richfield. A sheriff’s report said that at about 11:30am, the 17-year old boy lost control of his truck on slick roads and slid off into the pond, ending upside down. The boy was not injured in the accident and there was only minor damage to the front and top of his truck. Crews were able to pull his truck out of the pond using a tractor and no citations were issued.

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP)—Cetera DeGraffenreid had 19 points and the #2 North Carolina Lady Tar Heels improved to 11-0 on the season with a 105-49 shellacking of the Arkansas-Pine Bluff Lady Lions Monday in Top 25 womens’ basketball action. North Carolina made 53 percent of their shots on the evening while She’la White had 17 points for the Lady Tar Heels and Chay Shegog added 15 more. Ciara Shields and Jonae Prince-Coleman had nine points apiece in the loss for the Lady Lions. In other Top 25 action Monday, #17 Ohio State bested Cleveland State, 68-54.

BOSTON (AP)—Rajon Rondo amassed a career-high 25 points, nine rebounds and eight assists and the Boston Celtics won their 15th consecutive game with a 100-91 win over the Utah Jazz Monday at TD Banknorth Garden. Rondo scored 12 of his 25 points in the final 5:20 of regulation while Kevin Garnett added 19 points and 10 boards for the Celtics who improved to 23-2 on the season. Paul Millsap posted a career high 32 points and 10 rebounds in defeat for Utah. In other NBA action Monday, Atlanta edged Charlotte, 83-79, Indiana hammered Washington, 118-98, New Jersey downed Toronto, 94-87, Milwaukee gashed Miami, 98-83, Denver bested Dallas, 98-88, Phoenix surged past New York, 111-103, Sacramento outgunned Minnesota, 118-103, and Orlando blasted Golden State, 109-98.

DETROIT (AP)—Wojtek Wolski and Paul Stastny scored first period goals and the Colorado Avalanche outlasted the Detroit Red Wings, 3-2 Monday at Joe Louis Arena. After Tomas Holstrom’s second period goal for Detroit, the Avs’ Jordan Leopold added a third period goal for an insurmountable 3-1 lead. The win improved Colorado to 15-14-1 on the season, while the Red Wings fell to 20-6-4. In other NHL action Monday, San Jose edged Los Angeles, 3-2.

(RICHFIELD) – The Sevier County Commissioners met in session today to consider an agreement between the County and Sevier Power Company on a decision to approve or deny the application on the building of a proposed coal-fired power plant near Sigurd. SPC Attorney, Fred Finlinson, addressed the Commissioners on the issue, saying state law allows SPC to enact a “ripcord” agreement, which means that Commissioners have 45-days to make a decision to either approve or deny the application for a Conditional Use Permit in the Planned Unit Development for the building of the plant. Commissioner Gary Mason said that the deadline for the ripcord agreement is Jan. 5th, 2009. During the meeting, Commissioners authorized County Attorney, Dale Eyre to extend the deadline for 30 days in order for Eyre to hire an attorney to review the permit and tax issues associated with the building of the plant. SPC agreed to the extension.

(SALT LAKE CITY) – The Utah BLM has announced their final plans for the 2008 oil, gas and geothermal lease sale to be held in Salt Lake City Dec. 19. BLM Spokesperson, Megan Crandall, says they’re excited to offer more geothermal parcels in this sale. Crandall said that while 191,000 acres of BLM-administrated land was initially considered for renewable energy development, close to 50,000 acres were deferred for a variety of reasons, including two parcels near the existing geothermal plant at Cove Fort. Other acreage was deferred due to potential impacts to cultural resources and historical settings. The final list for the Dec. 19 sale includes 44 geothermal parcels totaling 142,333 acres and 132 oil and gas parcels totaling 163,935 acres in Duchesne, Emery, Garfield, Grand, San Juan and Uintah counties.

(RICHFIELD) – The annual Shop-With-A-Cop program in Richfield was a big success over the weekend. Sevier County Sheriff’s Department Public Information Officer, Nate Curtis, said the kids received more than what they expected. The annual event began Saturday morning at 8:00 with police officers traveling down main street in Richfield with sirens blaring. The cops and kids met at McDonalds for breakfast and then the kids welcomed Santa and shopped at K-Mart. About 100 children participated in the program this year with nearly 70 officers assisting from Sevier, Piute and Wayne Counties, including the Sevier County Sheriff’s Office, EMT’s, Search and Rescue, Utah Highway Patrol and police. PIO Nate Curtis said the event was a big success this year.

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP)—Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry, Brandon Morrison and Bobby Ryan all scored for the Anaheim Ducks as they doubled up the Minnesota Wild, 4-2 Sunday at Honda Center. The loss was the fifth in a row for the Wild and dropped them to 15-13-1 on the season, while the Ducks improved to 17-11-3 on the season. In other NHL action Sunday, Chicago handled Columbus, 3-1, and Vancouver bested Florida, 5-3.

PHOENIX (AP)—Nic Wise posted a career-high 21 points and made three clutch free throws in the final 31 seconds as the Arizona Wildcats tripped up the #4 Gonzaga Bulldogs, 69-64 Sunday at U.S. Airways Center. Jordan Hill had 22 points for the Wildcats, while Chase Budinger posted 14 more in the win for Arizona, which was their first against a Top 5 team since they beat Maryland in November 2001. The matchup marked only the third time that these two programs have met and was their first meeting since Arizona earned a win in double overtime in the 2003 NCAA Tournament. Austin Daye’s 22 points paced Gonzaga in their first loss of the season, while the Wildcats improved to 7-2. In other Top 25 action Sunday, #11 Wake Forest tripped up Wright State, 66-53, #12 Villanova handled La Salle, 70-59, #18 Arizona State edged IUPUI, 59-58, and #25 Miami (Fla.) smoked Robert Morris, 70-62.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP)—Steve Smith had nine receptions for 165 yards and a touchdown as the Carolina Panthers blasted the Denver Broncos, 30-10 Sunday at Bank of America Stadium. The Panthers put themselves in position to earn the #1 overall seed in the NFC playoffs with the win as they face the New York Giants next Sunday in a game which will determine home field advantage throughout the postseason. Although the Broncos missed an opportunity to clinch the AFC West title with the loss, they can earn the division crown with a win next Sunday at home against reeling Buffalo. The win was the 11th on the season for the Panthers and commemorates the third time under head coach John Fox that Carolina has won at least 11 games. In other NFL action Sunday, Atlanta edged Tampa Bay, 13-10 in overtime, Cincinnati stunned Washington, 20-13, Houston outlasted Tennessee, 13-12, Jacksonville downed Green Bay, 20-16, Miami downed San Francisco, 14-9, the New York Jets stymied Buffalo, 31-27, Seattle got past St. Louis, 23-20, San Diego surged past Kansas City, 22-21, Indianapolis bested Detroit, 31-21, Minnesota hammered Arizona, 35-14, Pittsburgh stonewalled Baltimore, 13-9, New England bludgeoned Oakland, 49-26, and Dallas ousted the New York Giants, 20-8. The Monday Night game this week features Philadelphia against Cleveland

NORMAN, Okla. (AP)—Blake Griffin scored 11 points despite amassing no field goals and added 11 rebounds as the #5 Oklahoma Sooners improved to 10-0 on the season with a 70-52 win over the Utah Utes Saturday at the Lloyd Noble Center. Although Griffin was neutralized, all five of Oklahoma’s starters scored in double figures, with Austin Johnson’s 14 points leading the way. Lawrence Borha and Shaun Green each had 12 points in defeat for Utah. In other Top 25 action Saturday, #1 North Carolina got past Oral Roberts, 100-84, #3 Pittsburgh smacked UMBC, 91-56, #6 Texas snuck past Texas State, 81-73, Temple stunned #8 Tennessee, 88-72, #9 Xavier bested Cincinnati, 76-66, #10 Louisville shellacked Austin Peay, 94-75, #13 Notre Dame waxed Boston U., 74-67, #14 UCLA trounced DePaul, 72-54, #19 Georgetown surged past #17 Memphis, 79-70 in overtime, #16 Syracuse crushed Long Beach State, 79-55, #17 Purdue stymied Indiana State, 76-62, #20 Michigan State hammered Alcorn State, 118-60, #21 Ohio State edged Butler, 54-51, #22 Davidson outgunned Chattanooga, 100-95, Massachusetts upset #23 Kansas, 61-60 and #24 Marquette bludgeoned IPFW, 69-50.

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (AP)—Eric Ward completed 28 of 35 passes for 280 yards and threw the game-winning touchdown to Joe Stewart in the closing seconds as the Richmond Spiders advanced to the FCS (I-AA) championship for the first time in school history with a 21-20 win over the Northern Iowa Panthers Saturday at the UNI Dome. Richmond had great success early in the game as Ward tossed a flea-flicker touchdown pass to speedster Kevin Grayson on a 41-yard strike and led 7-3 at halftime. Nevertheless, the Panthers seized control in the third quarter as Pat Grace threw a pair of touchdown passes to help lead Northern Iowa to a 20-7 lead. From there, however, Richmond seized control as despite the odds stacked against them, Ward led the Spiders 90 yards in 95 seconds with no timeouts and silenced a sellout crowd of 12,062 with his touchdown pass to Stewart. The win was the 8th in a row for Richmond as despite a start of 4-3, they are in position for the greatest win in program history. The Spiders will face Montana, a 35-27 victor over James Madison, Friday evening at Chattanooga, Tenn., for the national championship. Click here for game summary.

COALVILLE, Utah (AP)—Nick Brown posted 23 points while Griffin Aste added 16 more as the Manti Templars drubbed the North Summit Braves, 62-53 Saturday in non-region basketball action.

FILLMORE, Utah (AP)—Jordan Cotterell had 33 points including four treys as the Millard Eagles outlasted the North Sevier Wolves, 67-62 in overtime in non-region boys basketball action Saturday.

RICHFIELD, Utah (AP)—Kevin Griffin amassed 18 points while Tim Hughes added 15 more to lead the Escalante Moquis to a 67-34 rout of the Monticello Buckaroos Saturday at the Sevier Valley Center.

RICHFIELD, Utah (AP)—Tyson Johnson posted 21 points and the Green River Pirates raced to a 22-8 lead en route to a 65-57 win over the Bryce Valley Mustangs at the Sevier Valley Center Saturday. Dusty Ahlstrom had 11 points to pace the Mustangs in defeat.

RICHFIELD, Utah (AP)—Eric Frandsen had 18 points while Cameron Leach added 12 more to lead the Panguitch Bobcats to a 55-34 win over the Whitehorse Raiders Saturday at the Sevier Valley Center.

RICHFIELD, Utah (AP)—Kelton Price had 16 points while Tyson Westwood chipped in with 14 more as the Piute Thunderbirds bested the Tabiona Tigers, 49-40 at the Sevier Valley Center Saturday.

RICHFIELD, Utah (AP)—Caden Andersen had a second consecutive stellar performance with 16 points and the Rich Rebels got past the Valley Buffaloes, 43-35 Saturday at the Sevier Valley Center.

RICHFIELD, Utah (AP)—Tyce Peterson and Trevor Taylor each had 10 points to lead the Wayne Badgers to a 56-34 pasting of the Mount Vernon Patriots at the Sevier Valley Center Saturday.

FILLMORE, Utah (AP)—The Millard Lady Eagles went on a 21-6 run in the second quarter and Amber Freeman amassed 18 points in a 54-47 win over the Uintah Lady Utes Saturday in non-region girls’ basketball action.

KANAB, Utah (AP)—Deysha Twitchell had 12 points to lead the Bryce Valley Lady Mustangs to a 53-36 win over the Kanab Cowgirls Saturday at the Cowgirl Classic. Samantha Houston’s 10 points led the way for Kanab.

KANAB, Utah (AP)—Kayla Maxwell had 13 points and the Valley Lady Buffaloes trounced the Whitehorse Lady Raiders, 47-34 at the Cowgirl Classic Saturday.

MESQUITE, Nev. (AP)—Kalani Norris had 14 points but it wasn’t enough as the Panguitch Lady Bobcats fell to the Virgin Valley (Nev.) Lady Bulldogs, 33-30 Saturday at the Mesquite Tournament.

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP)—Courtney Paris had 17 points, including 13 in the second half while amassing 10 rebounds as the #6 Oklahoma Lady Sooners stormed past Cal State Bakersfield, 105-84 Friday at the Basketball by the Bay Classic. Christin Kepenikian had 22 points for the undersized Lady Roadrunners who fell to 4-5 with the loss, while Oklahoma improved to 7-2. In other Top 25 womens’ college basketball action Friday, #7 California decimated San Jose State, 76-40.

PHOENIX (AP)—Grant Hill broke loose from the Orlando Magic defense for a reverse layup in the closing seconds as the Phoenix Suns earned a 113-112 win Friday at U.S. Airways Center. Steve Nash had 21 points and 10 assists to lead a Phoenix offensive output which saw the Suns make 51 percent of their field goals and 53 percent of their 3-pointers. Additionally, Jason Richardson scored 21 points in his Phoenix debut, while Amare Stoudemire chipped in with 21 as well. Dwight Howard had 19 points in only 22 minutes for Orlando, although he left midway through the third quarter with a sore knee. The win improved the Suns to 14-10 on the season, while the Magic suffered a rare defeat in falling to 17-6. In other NBA action Friday, Cleveland dismantled Philadelphia, 88-72, Atlanta stonewalled Miami, 87-73, Toronto hammered New Jersey, 101-79, Boston surged past New Orleans, 94-82, Detroit outlasted Indiana, 114-110, San Antonio blasted Minnesota, 98-86, Memphis tripped up Chicago, 103-96, the Los Angeles Clippers outgunned Portland, 120-112 in double overtime, Houston handled Golden State, 119-108, and the Los Angeles Lakers bested Sacramento, 112-103.

PARK CITY, Utah (AP)—Griffin Aste had 24 points and Nick Brown added 18 more as the Manti Templars improved to 3-1 on the season with a 53-48 win over the Park City Miners Friday in non-region boys’ basketball action. Tony Epperson had 16 points in the loss for Park City.

RICHFIELD, Utah (AP)—The Valley Buffaloes used a 17-3 run to seize control as they got past the Duchesne Eagles, 42-32 at the 1A Preseason Preview at the Sevier Valley Center.

BEAVER, Utah (AP)—Jeremy Smith had 26 points to lead the Beaver Beavers as they outlasted the Gunnison Bulldogs, 79-72 in non-region boys basketball action Friday. Derrick Christensen scored 42 points in the loss for the Bulldogs.

SALINA, Utah (AP)—Kyler Jones amassed 31 points for the Juab Wasps as they stung the North Sevier Wolves, 82-68 Friday in non-region boys basketball action. Rodney Tidlund had 16 points in the loss for North Sevier.

RICHFIELD, Utah (AP)—Trent Nielson had 13 points and the Richfield Wildcats improved to 4-0 on the season in a 59-43 win over the Kanab Cowboys in non-region boys basketball action Friday. Rhees Jackson had 20 points in the loss for Kanab.

MONROE, Utah (AP)—McKay Blackburn had 31 points and Dustin Bishoff added 17 more to lead the South Sevier Rams to a 70-55 win over the Parowan Rams Friday in non-region boys basketball action.

RICHFIELD, Utah (AP)—The Manila Mustangs raced to a 26-8 lead at intermission and held on for a 40-31 win over the Bryce Valley Mustangs Friday at the Sevier Valley Center. Dusty Ahlstrom had 10 points in defeat for Bryce Valley.

RICHFIELD, Utah (AP)—Jaylin Christenson had 17 points while Tyson Westwood chipped in with 13 more as the Piute Thunderbirds edged the Christian Heritage Crusaders, 47-45 at the Sevier Valley Center Friday.

RICHFIELD, Utah (AP)—Caden Andersen had 16 points to lead all scorers and the defending 1A champion Rich Rebels smoked the Panguitch Bobcats, 56-38 Friday at the Sevier Valley Center. Trac Norris had 15 points to pace Panguitch in defeat.

KANAB, Utah (AP)—Deysha Twitchell’s 23 points led all scorers and the Bryce Valley Lady Mustangs hammered the Whitehorse Lady Raiders, 53-37 Friday at the Cowgirl Classic.

KANAB, Utah (AP)—Savannah Cooper posted 19 points and 10 rebounds and the Kanab Cowgirls dismantled the Valley Lady Buffaloes, 64-43 at the Cowgirl Classic Friday.

(Utah) The Utah Department of Agriculture has updated their Strategic Plan. One of the main goals of the plan is to educate the public about issues facing the agriculture industry. According to State Ag Commissioner Leonard Blackham, the department spent a year taking input from different groups before putting to plan together. A recent survey found that ninety percent of respondents from the Wasatch Front favored maintaining agriculture in Utah. But a number of ideas are being considered in the nation and in the state that would place unsustainable burdens on the industry, including taxing producers for emissions from cattle. Commissioner Blackham says that they hope to put some of those ideas to rest with proper education about their consequences.

(MANTI) – A week-long jury trial for a Sanpete woman charged with recklessly causing the death of her 21-day old daughter in 2005, has concluded with a plea agreement. Court records say that 23-year old, Carmen Papenfuss, a former resident of Ft. Green, allegedly beat her daughter, Selah, to death on the night of Dec. 15, 2005. During the trial, autopsy reports showed the baby had bruises on her body and bleeding on the brain, indicating a beating. Sixth District Court Judge, David Mower, presided over the proceedings and attorneys reached an agreement that the case would be diverted for a year and then dismissed with prejudice, if Papenfuss obeys all local, state and federal laws. After the year is concluded, Papenfuss would not be subject to a jury trial and the case would be closed. Court clerks said the reason for the plea agreement is due to a witness for the defense giving more information than what the county attorneys had and wanted the judge to declare a mistrial. Attorneys in trials are supposed to receive all information necessary for both the defense and prosecution to use. Papenfuss’s attorney will file an order on the plea agreement and the judge will sign it.

(RICHFIELD) – The Family Support Center in Richfield is accepting donations for Christmas to help needy families in our local areas. Susan Munk, Director of the Center, says the goal of the Family Support Center is to help families in time of need. She said the Center opened in the spring of 2005 and accepts clothing, food, baby supplies, toys and more. The Center is especially in need of girl’s clothes, sizes two to six and they’re always in need of more baby wipes and diapers. Donations can be dropped off at the Center at 58 East 300 North in Richfield. KSVC-AM 980 and KCYQ-FM 97.7 has “adopted” the Family Support Center for the holidays and donations can be dropped off at the stations at 390 East Annabella Road in Richfield until Christmas.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP)—Shekinna Stricklen had 20 points and six rebounds as the #10 Tennessee Lady Volunteers hammered the Middle Tennessee State Lady Blue Raiders, 81-52 Thursday at Boling-Thompson Arena. The Lady Vols shot a season high 52 percent from the field, while Angie Bjorklund added 16 more for Tennessee. Alysha Clark had 28 points in the loss for Middle Tennessee State. In other Top 25 action Thursday, #13 Rutgers edged Prairie View A&M, 58-56.

SALT LAKE CITY (AP)—Mehmet Okur amassed 21 of his 27 points in the first half and Paul Millsap had his 10th consecutive double-double with 17 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Utah Jazz to a 97-88 win over the Portland Trail Blazers, Thursday at Energy Solutions Arena. Deron Williams chipped in with 14 points and 11 assists for Utah who improved to 15-9 on the season. The Jazz have now won 38 of their last 42 games at home while Brandon Roy had 33 points and eight boards in defeat for Portland, who has dropped three of their last four games. In other NBA action Thursday, Boston smoked Washington, 122-88, and Dallas ousted Charlotte, 95-90.

CHICAGO (AP)—Robbie Gould nailed a 35-yard field goal in overtime and the Chicago Bears kept their NFC North division title hopes alive with a 27-24 victory over the New Orleans Saints Thursday at Soldier Field. The victory capped off what was a high-energy game from start to finish between two teams harboring playoff aspirations. It appeared as if the Bears would seal the deal early as speedster Danieal Manning returned the opening kickoff 83 yards for a score. After the Saints capitalized on an Olin Kreutz fumble with a 2-yard scoring pass from Drew Brees (24 of 43, 232 yards, 2 TD’s, 2 INT’s) to Pierre Thomas, the Bears scored a pair of touchdowns to take a 21-7 lead into the locker room. In the second half, the Saints scored 17 unanswered points and took a 24-21 lead when Brees hit Marques Colston on an 11-yard scoring play late in the fourth quarter. Nevertheless, the dormant Chicago offense suddenly came to life and after a 60-yard drive in the closing moments tied the game with Gould’s first field goal, from 28 yards. After winning the coin toss in overtime, the Bears capitalized on a 39-yard pass interference penalty to drive into range for Gould’s game-winner. The Bears improved to 8-6 with the win and will next face the Green Bay Packers Monday December 22, while the Saints at 7-7 were dealt a serious blow to their postseason hopes and will travel to Detroit to face the Lions a week from Sunday. Click here for game summary

(RICHFIELD) – The Constitution Party of Sever County is sponsoring the first in a series of programs designed to help people better understand the U.S. Constitution. Chairman Leonard Brown of Richfield said the first meeting will address the Federal Reserve System as a way to solve the national financial crisis. Brown said upholding the Constitution is a better method to avoid a rapidly developing national depression. He says he believes the present political course of the nation will needlessly exacerbate and prolong the depression, when a change of course could quickly stabilize the situation and establish a course of recovery. The meeting will be held tonight at the Sevier County Administration Building in the basement Auditorium at 7pm. The meeting is free of charge and the public is invited to attend.

(RICHFIELD) – A special Christmas concert is coming to the Sevier Valley Center in Richfield this weekend. Mindy Gledhill will be performing and she commented on how much she’s loved music all her life. She said she was accepted into the music school at BYU and majored in Media Music and after many tryouts, was discovered by producer, Kenneth Cope, who is popular in the LDS music industry. Gledhill said she eventually signed a contract with Excel Entertainment and advanced rapidly in her career. She’s excited about performing in Richfield because she has roots here, following the Gledhill and Winkel line. The concert will be held this Saturday at the Sevier Valley Center at 8pm following the Christmas Lights Parade downtown main street in Richfield.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP)—Stephany Skrba had 20 points and made both of Michigan’s field goals in overtime as the Lady Wolverines upset the #8 Notre Dame Lady Irish, 63-59 Wednesday in Top 25 womens’ college basketball action. In the crucial last stanza, Michigan outscored Notre Dame, 7-3 and improved to 6-4 with the win. Ashley Barlow had 14 points for the Lady Irish in their first loss of the season. In other Top 25 action Wednesday, #13 Louisville torched Hartford, 70-42, and Valparaiso shocked #23 Purdue, 71-60.

DENVER (AP)—Carmelo Anthony tied George “The Iceman” Gervin’s record of 33 points in a quarter and posted 45 on the night as the Denver Nuggets stormed past the Minnesota Timberwolves, 116-105 Wednesday at Pepsi Center. The legendary Gervin had his 33-point quarter for San Antonio in a game against the then-New Orleans Jazz in April of 1978. Chauncey Billups added 24 points for the Nuggets, who improved to 15-7 with the win. Al Jefferson amassed 26 points and 12 boards in the loss for Minnesota. In other NBA action Wednesday, Toronto smacked Indiana, 101-88, New York handled New Jersey, 121-109, New Orleans blasted Charlotte, 105-89, Cleveland waxed Philadelphia, 101-93, Memphis got past Oklahoma City, 108-102, San Antonio edged Atlanta, 95-89, Golden State gashed Milwaukee, 119-96, and the Los Angeles Lakers held off Phoenix, 115-110.

MANTI, Utah (AP)—Russ Hugentobler nailed six 3-pointers and had 24 points as the Manti Templars dismantled the Delta Rabbits, 63-49 Wednesday in non-region boys’ basketball action. Griffin Aste added 16 for the Templars, while the Rabbits’ Josh Eliason had 26 points to lead all scorers.

JUNCTION, Utah (AP)—Austin Moyle amassed 16 points as the Enterprise Wolves smacked the Piute Thunderbirds, 68-44 in non-region boys’ basketball action Wednesday. Tyson Westwood’s 13 points led the way for Piute in defeat.

NEPHI, Utah (AP)—Kyler Jones had 23 points and Dallin Kay chipped in with 16 more as the Juab Wasps outgunned the Gunnison Bulldogs, 87-81 Wednesday in non-region boys basketball action. Derrick Christensen had a game-high 25 points in defeat for Gunnison.

PANGUITCH, Utah (AP)—Trac Norris posted 25 points while Eric Frandsen added 23 more to lead the Panguitch Bobcats to a 65-56 win over the Beaver Beavers in non-region boys basketball action Wednesday. Haydn Jessup’s 25 points led the way in the loss for Beaver.

MOUNT PLEASANT, Utah (AP)—Seth Taft’s 23 points led the way for South Sevier as the Rams pounded the North Sanpete Hawks, 62-38 Wednesday in non-region boys’ basketball action. Nathan Aagard had 12 points in defeat for the Hawks.

FILLMORE, Utah (AP)—Despite 21 points from Jordan Cotterell, the Millard Eagles fell to the Valley Buffaloes, 49-46 in non-region boys’ basketball action Wednesday.

DUCHESNE, Utah (AP)—Lance Peterson nailed three treys and had 27 points overall to lead the Wayne Badgers past the Duchesne Eagles, 53-50 Wednesday in non-region boys’ basketball action.

TROPIC, Utah (AP)—Deysha Twitchell had 18 points, while Sheyenne Cornforth added 16 more as the Bryce Valley Lady Mustangs downed Fredonia (Ariz.), 51-45 in non-region girls’ basketball action Wednesday. The Lady Mustangs improved to 7-0 on the season with the win.

PAROWAN, Utah (AP)—Kalani Norris’ 12 points led the way for the Panguitch Lady Bobcats as they downed Parowan, 40-27 Wednesday in non-region girls’ basketball action.

BICKNELL, Utah (AP)—The Wayne Lady Badgers went on a key 14-0 run in the third quarter to defeat the Valley Lady Buffaloes, 40-25 in Region 15 girls basketball action Wednesday.

(KOOSHAREM) – A former Central Valley man was found dead Tuesday morning at about 11:30 near Koosharem on Cove Mountain. The Sevier County Sheriff’s Department identified the man as 56-year old, Doyle Kendrick. A report said that it appeared Kendrick was preparing to take some snow chains off of his truck just above Milo’s Kitchen at the time of his death. The report stated that there was no indication of foul play.

(RICHFIELD) – Four people were taken to the Sevier Valley Hospital Monday night with possible injuries after three of them were ejected from their vehicle in a rollover on I-70. A UHP report stated that 20-year old, Brian Jordan of Loa, was traveling in a 1999 Ford Ranger eastbound at about 9:30pm, when he crossed an icy bridge near the north exit of Richfield and rolled. The report said that 18-year old, Amanda Wallace of Monroe was not wearing a seatbelt, 16-year old, Tawnee Cary of Logan was wearing only a shoulder belt and one-year old, Boew Cary of Logan was seatbelted. The report did not indicate who was ejected.

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP)—Ashley Sweat posted 16 of her 20 points in the pivotal second half and the #18 Kansas State Lady Wildcats improved to 8-0 on the season with a 64-55 win over Creighton Tuesday in Top 25 womens’ college basketball action. Chevelle Herring had 23 points in the loss for the Lady Bluejays. In other Top 25 action Tuesday, #16 Maryland embarrassed Loyola (Md.), 83-52, and South Dakota State overpowered #25 Minnesota, 65-55.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP)—As Kevin McHale started his second stint as head coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves, things started as they often ended under Randy Wittman, with a loss. Mehmet Okur had 21 points and 13 rebounds and Jerry Sloan earned a win on the 20th anniversary of his debut as coach of the Utah Jazz in a 99-96 win. Al Jefferson had 21 points in the loss for the Timberwolves, who have dropped 16 of their last 19 games, including six in a row. Additionally, Ronnie Brewer scored a team-high 25 points for the Jazz, who improved to 14-9 with the win. In other NBA action Tuesday, Cleveland hammered Toronto, 114-94, Washington surged past Detroit, 107-94, Chicago outlasted New York, 105-100, San Antonio outgunned Dallas, 133-126 in double overtime, Houston waxed Atlanta, 92-84, Phoenix stymied Milwaukee, 125-110, Orlando snuck past Portland, 109-108 and Sacramento torched the Los Angeles Lakers, 113-101.

BEAVER, Utah (AP)—Chamaya Kia posted 16 points and nine rebounds and Brittany Griffiths had 17 points to lead all scorers as the Beaver Lady Beavers trounced Gunnison, 54-31 Tuesday in non-region girls’ basketball action. Bailie Reynolds had 12 points for the Lady Bulldogs.

DELTA, Utah (AP)—The Canyon View Lady Falcons broke the game open with a 19-5 second quarter run as they pounded the Delta Lady Rabbits, 61-35 Tuesday at the Paladium in non-region girls’ basketball action.

MANTI, Utah (AP)—Sarah Wallingford and McKenzie Blauer each amassed nine points for the Manti Lady Templars in a 42-30 win over the Waterford Lady Ravens in non-region girls’ basketball action Tuesday.

KANAB, Utah (AP)—Talia Loy had 18 points as Page (Ariz.) downed the Kanab Cowgirls, 54-35 Tuesday in non-region girls’ basketball action. Samantha Cooper and Kellie Livingston each had 12 points for Kanab in defeat.

GREEN RIVER, Utah (AP)—Kandice Gleave and Loni Allan each posted 14 points to lead the Piute Lady Thunderbirds past the Green River Lady Pirates, 55-37 in non-region girls’ basketball action Tuesday. Brandi Webster amassed a game-high 18 points in defeat for Green River.

NEPHI, Utah (AP)—Brooke Bliss and Jaquel Christensen each had 13 points and the Richfield Lady Wildcats trounced the Juab Lady Wasps, 55-21 Tuesday in non-region girls’ basketball action.

KAMAS, Utah (AP)—Amberlee Page posted 25 points and 20 rebounds as the South Summit Lady Wildcats smacked the Millard Lady Eagles, 45-38 in non-region girls’ basketball action Tuesday.

(EPHRAIM) – The national economic downturn has high school students worried that they won’t get scholarships or financial aid to help with college expenses. Greg Dart, Director of Admissions and Communications at Snow College, says that’s not the case. He said that many scholarships are available through Snow College in Ephraim and Richfield and many private scholarships are also available around the country. Dart said there’s a difference between scholarships and financial aid. Scholarships are not necessarily required to be repayed while loans are but grants don’t have to be paid back. Deadlines for scholarship acceptance are mid-December for some and Feb. 1st for others as well as June 1st for some private scholarships. Dart said that high school seniors should meet with their counselors and college personnel now in preparation for applying for scholarships before the deadlines.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP)—Samardo Samuels scored 15 points and the #10 Louisville Cardinals won their third game in as many days in a 78-56 win over Lamar Monday at Freedom Hall. The triumvirate of wins improved Rick Pitino’s squad to 5-1 on the season while Lamar fell to 6-3 with the loss. Jay Brown amassed 16 points and eight boards in the loss for Lamar. In other Top 25 action Monday, #19 Georgetown embarrassed Savannah State, 100-38.

ST. LOUIS (AP)—B.J. Crombeen amassed a hat trick and the St. Louis Blues doubled up the Nashville Predators, 6-3 Monday at Scottrade Center. Crombeen’s performance was the best of his career as he doubled his career goal output while Alexander Steen, Patrik Berglund, and Brad Boyes also scored for the Blues. The loss was a rarity for the Predators on the road as they had won six of their seven previous games away from their home ice. The win improved St. Louis to 12-11-3 on the season while the Nashville fell to 14-11-2. In other NHL action Monday, Boston waxed Tampa Bay, 5-3, Florida ousted Ottawa, 4-3 in overtime, Buffalo edged Pittsburgh, 4-3 and Toronto bested the New York Islanders, 4-2.

(Manti) Manti City will officially open the new fire Station on Tuesday with a ribbon cutting ceremony. The ceremony will start at 3:30 and is open to the public. The station was built with funding from the Community Development Block Grant, and the USDA. The station is located at 50 South 100 East. Following the ribbon cutting, there will be a home show in Manti starting at 4:00 PM.

(COVE FORT) – The Utah Department of Transportation has closed the off-ramp at the Junction of I-15 and I-70 due to maintenance. Engineers say the closure will only affect traffic traveling northbound on I-15. Travelers exiting I-15 going eastbound to I-70 will be re-routed through Cove Fort. All traffic joining I-15 from I-70 westbound will not be affected. UDOT personnel say that traffic should be delayed five to ten minutes due to the road closure. The Junction should be open to all traffic after 3:00 this (Monday) afternoon.

LOS ANGELES (AP)—Josh Shipp and Jrue Holiday each had 14 points and the #9 UCLA Bruins stormed past the Cal State-Northridge Matadors, 85-67 Sunday at Pauley Pavilion. The Bruins made 58 percent of their shots on the evening and raced to a 41-27 halftime lead en route to the easy victory. Tremaine Townsend nailed 10 of 15 shots and posted 23 points in the loss for the Matadors. In other Top 25 action Sunday, #6 Oklahoma smoked Tulsa, 69-44, #11 Louisville hammered Ohio, 91-56, #12 Michigan State waxed Bradley, 75-59, #19 Arizona State trounced Nebraska, 64-44, and Florida State shocked #21 Florida, 57-55.

NEW YORK (AP)—Mikka Kiprusoff amassed his 29th career shutout and the Calgary Flames scorched the New York Rangers, 3-0 Sunday at Madison Square Garden. Jarome Iginla, David Moss and Rene Bourque each scored for Calgary as they improved to 16-10-1 on the season, while New York fell to 18-10-2 with the loss. In other NHL action Sunday, Carolina waxed Washington, 3-1, Chicago hammered Phoenix, 7-1, Colorado outlasted Vancouver, 5-4 in a shootout and Anaheim bested Columbus, 5-3.

DENVER (AP)—Brandon Marshall scored the winning touchdown from six yards out and the Denver Broncos’ defense came up with a huge goal line stand in the closing moments in a 24-17 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs Sunday at INVESCO Field @ Mile High. Jay Cutler (32 of 40, 286 yards, 2 TD’s, INT) overcame the ill effects of an early interception which was returned 27 yards for a score by Kansas City’s Maurice Leggett to lead the game-winning drive. The Chiefs who had just won two games on the season took a 17-7 second quarter lead after Tyler Thigpen hit Tony Gonzalez on a 13-yard scoring strike but from there the Broncos seized control. The Denver offense hit its stride in the second half as it amassed 238 of its 425 yards after halftime while the defense surrendered only 260 net yards to a Chiefs offense which has torched several solid defenses on the season. Another win for the Broncos, coupled with another loss by San Diego will give Denver the AFC West title. In other NFL action Sunday, Chicago bested Jacksonville, 23-10, Minnesota got past Detroit, 20-16, Indianapolis decimated Cincinnati, 35-3, Philadelphia stymied the New York Giants, 20-14, Tennessee hammered Cleveland, 28-9, New Orleans outgunned Atlanta, 29-25, Houston edged Green Bay, 24-21, Miami waxed Buffalo, 16-3 at Toronto, San Francisco grounded the New York Jets, 24-14, New England clipped Seattle, 24-21, Arizona trounced St. Louis, 34-10, Pittsburgh surged past Dallas, 20-13, and Baltimore overpowered Washington, 24-10.

WEST JORDAN, Utah (AP)—Trac Norris had 29 points and Eric Frandsen added 18 more as the Panguitch Bobcats hammered West Ridge Academy, 101-48 Saturday in non-region boys’ high school basketball action.

RICHFIELD, Utah (AP)—Derrick Christensen’s 25 points led the way for Gunnison as they downed the Kanab Cowboys, 62-59 Saturday at the Sevier Valley Center.

RICHFIELD, Utah (AP)—Dane Whittaker had 12 points as the Richfield Wildcats smacked the Millard Eagles, 54-28 at the Sevier Valley Center Saturday.

RICHFIELD, Utah (AP)—Zack Arthur’s 18 points led the way as the Rowland Hall/St. Mark’s Winged Lions edged Manti, 50-48 Saturday at the Sevier Valley Center. Griffin Aste had 16 points in the loss for the Templars.

RICHFIELD, Utah (AP)—Judd Rydalch amassed 16 points and the South Summit Wildcats shellacked the North Sevier Wolves, 63-39 at the Sevier Valley Center Saturday.

TROPIC, Utah (AP)—Joseph Weatherford had 19 points and the Monticello Buckaroos smacked the Bryce Valley Mustangs, 58-42 Saturday at the Ruby’s Inn Invitational.

COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP)—B.J. Holmes had two key treys and free throws in the closing moments and scored a team-high 14 points as the Texas A&M Aggies edged the Arizona Wildcats, 67-66 Friday at Reed Arena. Jordan Hill amassed 20 points and eight boards in the loss for Arizona.

DETROIT (AP)—The Buffalo Bulls’ opportunistic defense forced four fumbles, scoring off of each of them as they dismantled the #12 Ball State Cardinals, 42-24 Friday at the MAC Championship Game at Ford Field. Two of the fumbles were returned for scores including one that changed the game’s momentum as Ball State was nursing a 17-14 lead in the third quarter when quarterback Nate Davis was hit by Josh Thomas and coughed the ball up. Mike Newton returned the theft 92 yards for a score and the Bulls never looked back. The loss for the Cardinals ruined their dreams of a perfect season while the Bulls improved to 8-5 in their most successful season since moving to Division I in 1999. Davis threw for 351 yards, a touchdown and an interception in the loss for the Cardinals while Naaman Roosevelt posted three touchdown receptions for the Bulls.

DALLAS (AP)—Mike Modano scored in the fourth round of a shootout and the Dallas Stars ousted the Colorado Avalanche, 2-1 Friday at American Airlines Center. Toby Petersen scored the sole goal for Dallas in regulation, while Marek Svatos scored the only goal for the Avalanche. The win was the fourth in six games for the resurgent Stars who after a disappointing start to the season are perhaps ready to assert themselves as Stanley Cup contenders once again. The victory improved Dallas to 10-12-4 on the season while the Avs fell to 12-13-1. In other NHL action Friday, Calgary ousted St. Louis, 4-3 in overtime, Vancouver doubled up Minnesota, 2-1 and Edmonton outlasted Los Angeles, 5-4 in a shootout.

SALT LAKE CITY (AP)—Wyatt Mason of North Sevier was named as the Class 1A Football MVP by the Deseret News after the Wolves’ victory in the 1A title game over Kanab several weeks ago. Mason ran for over 1300 yards and 18 scores on the season for North Sevier. Here is a list of other local football players that made the all-state team in their respective classifications.

Class 3A-First Team Dayton DeLoach DB-Delta

Class 3A-Second Team Garrett Spence OL-Delta Wes Murdock LB-Delta

Class 2A-First Team Griffin Aste QB/DL-Manti Jordan Bainter OL/DL-Juab Nick Brown WR/DB-Manti Seth Gergetz OL/DL-Manti Jameson Izatt OL/DL-Juab Cody Keisel FB/LB-Juab Landon Leavitt RB/LB-South Sevier Scott Mathie OL/LB-South Sevier Jordan McMullin OL/LB-Beaver J.D. Michaelsen WR/DE-Richfield Clancy Mortensen RB/LB-Millard Matthew Olson RB/LB-Manti Chase Stevens RB/LB-Manti Chandler Street RB/DB-Juab

Class 2A-Second Team Kyler Jones RB/DB-Juab Heston Neal RB/DB-Gunnison Travis Tuttle RB/LB-Richfield Zach Cropper RB/LB-Richfield Trent Nielsen WR/DB-Richfield Robbie Gurr WR/DB-Beaver Skyler Richards WR/DL-Juab Hayden Baker TE/LB-South Sevier Jens Howe TE/LB-Manti Sergio Pedroza OL/DL-Millard Jace Mecham OL/DL-South Sevier Anthony Fusco OL/DL-Beaver Jake Bradford OL/DL-Juab

Class 1A-First Team Josh Bates RB/LB-North Sevier Craig Brinkerhoff QB/DB-Kanab Bryce Hafen RB/LB-Kanab Justin Orton WR/DB-Kanab Evan Pettit OL/DL-North Sevier Bobby Robbins OL/DL-North Sevier Riley Tidlund TE/LB-North Sevier

Class 1A-Second Team Tanner Larsen QB/LB-North Sevier Kolton Perkins RB/LB-Kanab Jordan Nielsen WR/DB-Kanab Thomas Chamberlain OL/DL-Kanab Dan Cserepes OL/DL-Kanab Clay Harward OL/DL-North Sevier James Holmes LB-North Sevier

(Manti) Manti City has hired Brody Keisel as a prosecuting attorney for the city. The State Legislature determined that city attorneys that provide defense for the city cannot provide prosecution, which means the city must now have at least two attorneys. Keisel also serves as assistant attorney for Sanpete County. The city council also passed a bond parameters resolution for improvements to the library. The bond cannot exceed one hundred thousand dollars, and will be payed for by fundraisers and funds collected by the library. A public hearing will be held before bonds are issued.

(RICHFIELD) – The Central Utah Narcotics Task Force have arrested the owners of Sevier Valley Auto Finders of Richfield on drug charges. According to a report, an undercover officer met with 38-year old, Darren Dunn and 41-year old, Staci Dunn at the business on Wednesday. Officers stated that the Dunn’s made arrangements to exchange methamphetamine for a vehicle. After the exchange, the Task Force moved in and made the arrest. The Dunn’s were booked into the Sevier County Jail for possession of a controlled substance and meth with the intent to distribute and Darren was also charged with possession of a firearm by a restricted person. The investigation continues with more charges expected.

AUSTIN, Texas (AP)—A.J. Abrams amassed 31 points to tie his career high and the #8 Texas Longhorns bested the #9 UCLA Bruins, 68-64 Thursday at the Erwin Special Events Center. Damion James added 13 points and 13 rebounds in the win for the Longhorns, but it was their defense that determined the outcome. After Alfred Aboya pulled the Bruins to within 65-64 with 2:28 left in regulation, Texas held Ben Howland’s squad scoreless the rest of the way. Darren Collison had 22 points to pace UCLA, although this was only the fifth time in his collegiate career that the Bruins lost when he scored more than 12 points. The win improved the Longhorns to 6-1 on the season, while UCLA fell to 4-2. In other Top 25 action Thursday, #2 Connecticut held off Buffalo, 68-64, #6 Oklahoma edged USC, 73-72, #16 Villanova trounced Houston Baptist, 93-57, and #19 Arizona State crushed Jackson State, 81-60.

DALLAS (AP)—After a slow start to the season, the Dallas Mavericks seem to be finding their stride under new coach Rick Carlisle. Dirk Nowitzki amassed 39 points, including 14 in the first quarter as the Dallas Mavericks dismantled the Phoenix Suns, 112-97 Thursday at American Airlines Center. The Mavericks have won eight of their last nine games while Phoenix has dropped four in a row for the first time since November 2006. Steve Nash had 20 points and 10 assists to pace the Suns in the loss. In other NBA action Thursday, San Antonio torched Denver, 108-91.

SAN DIEGO (AP)—Vincent Jackson snared five receptions for 148 yards and a score as the San Diego Chargers pounded the Oakland Raiders, 34-7 Thursday at Qualcomm Stadium. The win was much needed for the Chargers as to earn the AFC West division title, they must win out and hope the Denver Broncos can drop three of their last four games. In the interim, though, San Diego started December off on the right foot by forcing quarterback JaMarcus Russell out of the game and intercepting him twice. The Chargers raced out to a 27-7 lead at halftime and never looked back as they surrendered only 163 yards of offense to a beleaguered Raiders squad which dropped to 3-10 with the loss. San Diego will face the Chiefs in Kansas City, Mo. next Sunday while the Raiders battle the New England Patriots a week from Sunday at Oakland, Calif. Incidentally, this was the Chargers’ 11th consecutive win against the Raiders, the longest such streak for one team beating the other in the NFL. Oakland last beat San Diego in 2003. Click here for game summary.

(Fairview) The Fairview City Council has chosen a replacement for outgoing Mayor Spencer Cox who was elected to the Sanpete County Commission. Council member Jonathan Benson was nominated and supported by the entire council as Cox’s replacement. Benson will serve out the remainder of Cox’s term starting January 1st. Benson has lived in Fairview for the last ten years, and has served on the the City Council for five of those years. A replacement for Benson’s position on the council will be named at the upcoming council meeting.

(RICHFIELD) – The New Horizons Crisis Center is sponsoring their annual Home Show this year to benefit the center. Staff member, Shelly Haupt, said the economic downturn and increased reports of domestic violence has slowed incoming funds for the center. Board member, Cindy Poulson, said several homes in Richfield and Salina will be decorated for the Home Show and all the proceeds will benefit the center. The Home Show will be held Friday, Dec. 12 from 4-9pm and Saturday, Dec. 13 from 11am to 6pm. Tickets are available from various merchants around the valley.

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP)—Tyshawn Taylor posted a career-high 23 points and the #25 Kansas Jayhawks made 54 percent of their shots in a 100-79 win over the New Mexico State Aggies Wednesday at Allen Fieldhouse. Kansas also outrebounded their guests from Las Cruces, N.M., 46-30 on the night while scoring 17 of their points off of 20 offensive boards. Cole Aldrich added 13 points and 13 rebounds for the Jayhawks, while New Mexico State was led by Jahmar Young’s 17 points. Jonathan Gibson added 16 more for the Aggies. In other Top 25 action Wednesday, #1 North Carolina decimated #12 Michigan State, 98-63, #3 Pittsburgh blasted Duquesne, 78-51, #13 Tennessee overpowered UNC-Asheville, 87-69, #14 Xavier outlasted Auburn, 81-74, #17 Wake Forest crushed Indiana, 83-58, and #20 Syracuse outgunned Cornell, 88-78.

EDMONTON, Alberta, Canada (AP)—The Edmonton Oilers raced to a 3-0 lead and never looked back as they waxed the Dallas Stars, 5-2 Wednesday at Rexall Place. Shawn Horcoff, Lubomir Visnovsky, Marc-Antoine Pouliot, Ales Hemsky and Andrew Cogliano each scored for the Oilers while Mathieu Garon amassed 23 saves as well for Edmonton. The win improved the Oilers to 11-11-2 on the season, while Dallas fell to 9-12-4. Mike Modano scored both goals in the loss for the Stars. In other NHL action Wednesday, the New York Rangers edged Pittsburgh, 3-2 in a shootout, Ottawa pounded Atlanta, 5-1, Minnesota blanked St. Louis, 4-0, and Chicago doubled up Anaheim, 4-2.

(MOAB) – The Grand County Council has denied a draft letter to be sent to the BLM concerning oil and gas leases in the county. The Council organized a committee to review leasing on county land and at this month’s Council meeting, members reviewed several drafts of the letter and determined that there was too much confusion on the issue. The Council ended up not taking sides on the issue and is waiting for the BLM to make their determination. A public hearing was also held during the council meeting concerning input on a proposed Scenic Byways Corridor Management Plan for State Highways 128, 279 and 313. One resident asked the Council to ban trucking along Highway 128, the most traveled of the three but several citizens voiced concern over the ban because the road is used for transporting uranium and other economic uses. The Council also wanted to introduce language in the plan that would not stop campground growth along the highway. The Council also wants to educate the public to use bicycle paths along State Highway 128, not the road.

NACOGDOCHES, Texas (AP)—Adaora Elonu had 17 points while Tyra White and Tanish Smith added 13 apiece as the #4 Texas A&M Lady Aggies decimated the Stephen F. Austin Lady Jacks, 77-36 Tuesday in Top 25 womens’ college basketball action. The Lady Aggies built a 33-12 lead at halftime and never looked back as they improved to 7-0 on the season. Natashia Green had 12 points to lead Stephen F. Austin in defeat. In other Top 25 action Tuesday, #8 Notre Dame trounced Eastern Michigan, 83-63, #9 Tennessee got past George Washington, 71-59, #16 Vanderbilt hammered Radford, 78-41 and #21 Xavier crushed Kentucky, 67-44.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP)—Kyle Korver posted 15 points while Ronnie Brewer added 14 more as the Utah Jazz edged the Sacramento Kings, 99-94 Tuesday at ARCO Arena. The Jazz erased a five point deficit early in the fourth quarter with a 13-2 run that gave them a 77-71 lead they would not relinquish. Kevin Martin had 22 points to pace the Kings who lost their seventh straight game and the 10th of their last 11. In other NBA action Tuesday, Indiana outlasted the Los Angeles Lakers, 118-117, Washington decimated New Jersey, 108-88, Portland bested New York, 104-97, Philadelphia got past Chicago, 103-95 in overtime, Dallas surged past the Los Angeles Clippers, 100-98, Detroit humbled San Antonio, 89-77, and Denver decimated Toronto, 132-93.

KANAB, Utah (AP)—Rhees Jackson had 16 points and 15 rebounds as the Kanab Cowboys pounded the Piute Thunderbirds, 64-35 Tuesday in non-region boys’ high school basketball action.

CEDAR CITY, Utah (AP)—Jazzy Barney nailed four 3-pointers and amassed 16 points overall as the Cedar Lady Reds downed the Beaver Lady Beavers, 48-43 in non-region girls’ high school basketball action Tuesday.

GUNNISON, Utah (AP)—The Millard Lady Eagles jumped out to a 20-0 lead and got past the Gunnison Lady Bulldogs, 54-38 Tuesday in non-region girls’ high school basketball action. Bailie Reynolds had a game-high 23 points in the loss for Gunnison.

NEPHI, Utah (AP)—The North Sanpete Lady Hawks got off to a 15-6 start and overpowered the Juab Lady Wasps, 45-31 in non-region girls’ high school basketball action Tuesday.

COALVILLE, Utah (AP)—Jill Morrill had 11 points to lead the North Summit Lady Braves to a 37-23 win over the North Sevier Lady Wolves Tuesday in non-region girls’ high school basketball action.

RICHFIELD, Utah (AP)—Jaquel Christensen amassed 22 points and nine rebounds as the Richfield Lady Wildcats hammered the Canyon View Lady Falcons, 62-36 in non-region girls’ high school basketball action Tuesday.

MONROE, Utah (AP)—Jaden Parsons had a game-high 13 points as the South Sevier Lady Rams gashed the Delta Lady Rabbits, 47-30 Tuesday in non-region girls’ high school basketball action.

(Manti) The South Sanpete School District has set a goal to improve customer service in the district. As part of the districts plan, a parent survey will be distributed the week of December the 8th through the 12th. The purpose of the survey is to determine what the district and schools can do to better meet the needs of the students and parents. All parents are encouraged to complete the survey and have their child return it to the school. The survey findings will be evaluated and the areas of concern will be addressed by district officials. If you don’t receive a survey, it can be downloaded from the district website or picked up at your local school.

(RICHFIELD) – Sevier County Commissioners have appointed a new Planning Commission member. At their bi-monthly meeting, the Commission selected Brenda Malmgren of Aurora as the new member. She replaces Newell Hales who resigned due to job constraints. The County Commissioners also approved a $500 donation to the Freedom Chairs for Soldiers Families program to benefit children during the holidays whose parents are involved in wars overseas.

(SALT LAKE CITY) – LDS Church Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin, a member of the faith’s Quorum of the Twelve Apostle, has died. The Church confirmed his death at 11:30pm Monday at his home. He succumbed to causes related to old age, according to the Church. He was 91. Wirthlin was born in Salt Lake City on June 11, 1917 to Joseph L. and Madeline Bitner Wirthlin. His father served as the Presiding Bishop of the Church. He served as counselor in the Bonneville Ward bishopric and as bishop. He was a member of the Bonneville Stake high council and a member of the stake presidency. He also served as counselor in the General Sunday School Presidency until April 1975, when he was called as an Assistant to the Twelve. He married Elisa Young Rogers May 26, 1941 in the Salt Lake Temple. They are the parents of eight children. Sister Wirthlin passed away on August 16, 2006.

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP)—Sherron Collins had 16 of his 19 points in the second half as the #25 Kansas Jayhawks smacked Kent State 87-60 Monday at Allen Fieldhouse. Although the 5-1 Jayhawks dropped out of the Associated Press Top 25 for the first time in 47 weeks, they got the best of the Golden Flashes from the beginning as they surged to a 37-24 lead at intermission. The hallmark of Kansas’ success in this game was their prolific free throw shooting as they nailed 32 of 36 free throws on the night. Chris Singletary had 13 points to lead Kent State in the loss. In other Top 25 action Monday, #2 Connecticut hammered Delaware State, 79-49, #20 Syracuse decimated Colgate, 86-51, and #22 Wisconsin edged Virginia Tech, 74-72.

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP)—Paul Stastny had two goals and the Colorado Avalanche had a rare prolific performance in a 6-5 win over the Minnesota Wild Monday at Xcel Energy Center. Marek Svatos, David Jones, T.J. Hensick, and Milan Hejduk all added goals for the Avalanche who improved to 12-12 with the win. Pierre-Marc Bouchard had a pair of goals in the loss for the Wild. In other NHL action Monday, Nashville blanked Buffalo, 2-0, Columbus edged Vancouver, 3-2, Detroit doubled up Anaheim, 2-1, and Toronto bested Los Angeles, 3-1.

(MANTI) – The Sanpete County Sheriff’s Department is continuing the search for an 18-year old Hispanic woman who fled a youth home in Manti Thursday night. Sheriff’s reports say that Anna Moore left sometime between midnight and 7am Thursday in a 2000 silver Dodge Caravan with the license plate number Z-458-BZ. She has light brown hair and is about 230 pounds and may be in the Magna area where her sister lives. Police are still looking for her vehicle. If you have any information as to her whereabouts, you’re asked to call police.