(CORNISH)—Cache County HAZMAT crews responded to a major propane leak in Cornish Wednesday. KVNU-AM in Logan reported that at about 1:45 p.m. Wednesday, emergency crews were summoned to Cornish when it was discovered that an 18,000-gallon propane tank was leaking. The leak could reportedly be smelled and heard in the area while officials evacuated certain homes nearby.

(SALT LAKE CITY)—The Utah Department of Health reports Wednesday that 210 Utahns have been hospitalized due to illness associated with H1N1 virus, or swine flu, and 10 have died which is an increase by two from last week. One of the newly reported deaths is a female from Utah County between the ages of 18 and 39 and the other is a male from Davis County between the ages of 5 and 17. The health department says both victims had underlying medical conditions while no other information on other victim will be released due to privacy concerns.

(SALT LAKE CITY)—Well-known Utah businessman and community leader Sam Weller passed away at the age of 88. Weller’s daughter-in-law, Catherine Weller, said he died at his home of natural causes Tuesday. Weller was best known for his Zion Bookstore in downtown Salt Lake City while he originally worked for his father at the store in 1929. He eventually became the owner of the store while he gave it to his son Tony when he was forced to retire in 1997. Weller’s survivors include his wife, Lisa, while details of a memorial service have not yet been announced.

(SALT LAKE CITY)—A crisis has been averted over Utah’s liquor permits. At a packed meeting of the Utah Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission Wednesday, it was announced that there are enough permits to hand out to everyone who applied for one. For restaurateurs and bar owners, the ruling proved to be a relief. Liquor permits are handed out based on population estimates, which are revised annually. After last month’s commission meeting, there were 14 applications for liquor licenses and only 12 available permits. The numbers changed on Wednesday, leaving enough for everyone who applied. Commission chairman Sam Granato has concerns the quotas could limit economic development in Utah. Commissioners said a legislative subcommittee may take a look at the issue although incoming Utah governor Gary Herbert said he doesn’t support any more dramatic changes to Utah’s liquor laws.

(NAPLES)—A 7-year old Naples boy died after being buried under 2 feet of dirt. Uintah County sheriff’s deputies said the boy was playing on a site near Vernal that was being leveled by a bulldozer Tuesday evening. The driver of the vehicle, a family relative, did not see the boy over the four foot tall blade and pushed a pile of dirt over him. The Uintah County Sheriff’s Office said the boy was buried under 18-24 inches of dirt and it took 15 minutes to get him out. The boy was taken to the Ashley Regional Hospital and then airlifted to Primary Children’s Medical Center where he died Wednesday morning. The area, near Naples, was being leveled for a building to be built at the location. No charges have been pressed and the names of the boy and his family are not being released currently.

(SALT LAKE CITY)—A man convicted of murdering his girlfriend will get a new trial but not until October. Parley Jeffs Dutson’s conviction was overturned after one of the jurors who found him guilty admitted she was a victim of rape and had not disclosed that fact during jury selection. Dutson is accused of shooting his 15-year old girlfriend, Kara Hopkins, in the back of the head during a party at a West Jordan apartment in April 2007 after she resisted his sexual advances. Dutson’s new trial was scheduled for this summer but has been delayed due to the assignment of a new lawyer.

(IRON COUNTY)—A young girl is dead after a mishap at her birthday party involving a gun. Monday, the 5-year old girl from Arizona was visiting her grandparents in Beryl for her birthday party when she, and another girl, were in a room together with no adults around and found a .22-caliber rifle. The gun went off, hitting the girl in the torso, while she later died at Valley View Medical Center in Cedar City. It’s unclear if she accidentally shot herself or if the other child was handling the gun and investigators planned to interview the other girl Wednesday as her parents returned to town. The girl would have turned six Tuesday. The gun is registered to the victims’ grandparents and her name was not immediately released.

(CEDAR CITY)—A California foundation has donated dozens of fruit trees to two southern Utah bands of the Paiute tribe. Volunteers from the San Diego-based Fruit Tree Planting Foundation spent this past weekend and Monday planting the community orchards on reservation land owned by the Shivwitz band in Ivins as well as the Cedar band in Hamilton Fort. About 85 trees were planted, including peaches, plums, figs and almonds among others. Volunteers also put in irrigation lines and donated tools to care for the trees. Foundation Executive Director Cem Akin says the organization works to bring nutrition to families that last for decades. Akin said trees last longer than a single donation of food.

(PROVO)—A 95-year old hiker who was found Saturday after spending the previous evening in an embankment has died. Friday, George Jarvis went hiking in Rock Canyon Park and when he didn’t return, a search was launched. Saturday, a woman passing by the area noticed movement on the side of the road and discovered Jarvis, who was trapped in a 30-foot embankment. According to the Daily Herald, Jarvis died from injuries sustained during the hike.

(RICHFIELD) – The Sevier County Search and Rescue is celebrating their 50 year anniversary in August. Long-time volunteer member, Paul Niemeyer of Richfield, says search and rescue has changed a lot since its first meeting in 1959. Niemeyer, along with Jim Porter, Robert Breinholt and Doug Peterson, all have more than 30 years’ service in the organization. Retired member, Mel Briggs of Salina, had more than 45 years service before taking his Associate membership. Niemeyer said in the last 10 years, Search and Rescue has logged more than 200 rescue missions, with members logging more than 40 hours per year for training. He said Search and Rescue gets calls during all hours of the night and helps law enforcement with parade details, searching for evidence in cases, providing security at the fair and rodeos and helping locate escapees on occasion.

(ZION’S PARK) – Zion National Park will appear on a U.S. postage stamp for only the second time in its 100-year history. The 79-cent stamp will be unveiled this Sunday at an event in the Zion Canyon visitor center, just inside the park’s south entrance. Zion’s spokesman, Ron Terry, said the new stamp depicts one of the lesser-known areas of Zion, east of the historic tunnel near the Checkerboard Mesa. He said the stamp is not an iconic image of Zion but features a sandstone formation in the slickrock area of the park. The stamp is good for mailing postcards and letters weighing up to one ounce internationally and may be used domestically. Text on the stamp reads, “Zion National Park, Utah”.

(MT. PLEASANT) – The Mt. Pleasant City Council met in session last night to select a councilmember to finish the term of Mayor Chesley Christensen, who died at his home May 25. The council chose Sandra Bigler to finish Christensen’s term for the rest of the year. The selection created changes in other assignments that Christensen had performed, including city and zoning administrator positions. The council chose Sally East as the new City Administrator and Mike Haven as the new Zoning Administrator. Residents also have from July 1 through July 15 to apply for openings for three city council positions and the Mayor’s position for next year. Application packets can be picked up from Sally East at the Mt. Pleasant City building. The election will be held the first Tuesday of November and the new candidates will take their positions next January.

(RICHFIELD) – Richfield City is preparing for Fourth of July activities with programs, pageants and parades. Events kick off with the Miss Richfield Pageant to be held this Saturday at 7pm at the Sevier Valley Center Theatre. The Patriotic Program will be held this Sunday night at 7:00, also at the SVC, featuring an art display of American scenes. Parade Organizer, Joey Carlson, says the theme of the parade this year is, “Commemorating the American Spirit”. Carlson said there’s still some slots available for floats in the parade this year which will be held on Main Street July 4th starting at 9:30am. City officials hope the Main Street Enhancement Project will be complete for the parade and that townspeople and visitors will take advantage of activities at the park.

(SALT LAKE CITY) – The Utah BLM sold 31 of the 42 parcels offered in the oil and gas lease sale Tuesday at the BLM office in Salt Lake City. The parcels totaled 40,345 acres of federal land located in the Fillmore, Price and Vernal Field Offices. The BLM received $1,309,070 in total revenues from the sale including bonus bids, rental and administrative fees. BLM officials said John P. Hollmann of Hot Springs, SD. Submitted the highest total bid per acre of $900 on a parcel of 149 acres located in the Fillmore Field Office. The highest total bid per parcel was submitted by Questar of Denver for $429,120 on a parcel containing 1,340 acres in the Vernal Field Office. Some news reports said the oil and gas lease sale was suspended because of protests but BLM officials said that was not the case. They said 31 parcels have been sold but will delay issuing the leases until all protests on lease parcels are resolved.