Story Archive for 11/27/2009
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Utes Down Illinois in Closing Seconds
Published on November 27, 2009 at 11:52PM
LAS VEGAS (AP)—Shawn Glover hit a key jumper in the closing seconds and the Utah Utes upset the #20 Illinois Fighting Illini, 60-58 Friday at the Las Vegas Invitational in Top 25 men’s college basketball action. Demetri McCamey had 19 points and seven rebounds for the Illini, who squandered a 16-point halftime lead in the loss. Luke Drca had 14 of his 16 points in the second half to lead the Utes to the improbable victory. The win improved Utah to 3-2 on the season while the loss was the first for the Illini, as they fell to 4-1. In other Top 25 action Friday, #1 Kansas decimated Tennessee Tech, 112-75, Florida shocked #2 Michigan State, 77-74, #7 Duke bested #13 Connecticut, 68-59, #8 West Virginia held off Texas A&M, 73-66, #9 Syracuse crushed Columbia, 85-60, #10 Butler held off UCLA, 69-67, #11 Tennessee pummeled Charleston, 86-69, Marquette stunned #15 Michigan, 79-65, Portland stymied #16 Minnesota, 61-56, #19 Clemson outlasted Long Beach State, 87-79 and #25 Georgia Tech smoked Mercer, 85-74.
Surging Nowitzki Leads Mavs Past Pacers
Published on November 27, 2009 at 11:40PM
INDIANAPOLIS (AP)—Dirk Nowitzki had 31 points and Jason Terry added 17 more as the Dallas Mavericks dismantled the Indiana Pacers, 113-92 Friday at Conseco Fieldhouse in NBA action. After J.J. Barea’s 3-pointer gave Dallas a 35-26 lead at the end of the 1st Quarter, Dallas refused to relent as they led 66-54 at halftime and put the game away with a 29-15 surge in the 3rd Quarter. The win improved the Mavericks to 12-4 on the season, while the loss dropped Indiana to 6-8. Danny Granger had 20 points in defeat for the Pacers. In other NBA action Friday, Washington surged past Miami, 94-84, Atlanta hammered Philadelphia, 100-86, Charlotte bested Cleveland, 94-87, Boston clipped Toronto, 116-103, the Los Angeles Clippers ousted Detroit, 104-96, San Antonio overpowered Houston, 92-84, Denver outgunned New York, 128-125, Phoenix scorched Minnesota, 120-95, Oklahoma City crushed Milwaukee, 108-90, Memphis downed Portland, 106-96 and Sacramento humbled New Jersey, 109-96.
Officials Consider Next Step in Cave Quandary
Published on November 27, 2009 at 01:51PM
(UTAH COUNTY)—Tough decisions will be made Friday about how to remove the body of a man stuck in the Nutty Putty caves, and if the caves should be permanently closed to the public. John Jones died late Wednesday night after being trapped in the caves for more than 27 hours. Rescuers worked to get him out, but in the end, their efforts fell short. Now, Utah County officials are wondering what must be done next. A meeting took place Friday wherein it was discussed how to get Jones’ body out and what to do next. Two key issues are under discussion, with the first one being recovering the body. Rescuers spent a full night and day in attempts to extricate Jones from the narrow tunnel he was stuck in. Secondly, the future of Nutty Putty caves hangs in the balance as officials are considering whether or not it should be permanently closed or perhaps sealed off to prevent similar disasters. The other option under consideration is whether to keep it open under some management plan that would enable experienced cavers to go in. At this point, it’s unsure whether or not any decisions have been made.
SLC Lights To Kick Off Holiday Season
Published on November 27, 2009 at 01:46PM
(SALT LAKE CITY)—Lights will be going on all over Salt Lake City Friday evening as the holiday season gets underway. Around 5:00 p.m. Friday evening, Mayor Ralph Becker will be joined by the Jazz Bear and Santa Claus to flip the switch on the lights at the Gallivan Center. The event is sponsored by the Downtown Alliance and the Utah Jazz. This will be followed by the Temple Square lights being turned on at 5:30. Hogle Zoo will turn on its lights Saturday.
Snowbasin's Opening Day Draws About 900
Published on November 27, 2009 at 01:39PM
(OGDEN)—Snowbasin’s opening day drew some 900 skiers and snowboarders Thursday. Cooler temperatures in recent days allowed the resort to make enough snow to open Thanksgiving. The resort has received 32 inches of natural snowfall thus far this winter, but generated an additional 20 inches of man-made snow. Snowbasin opened with a 2.5-mile run from top to bottom accessed by the Needles Express Gondola, as well as a small terrain park near the base. All but four of Utah’s 13 ski resorts are now open.
Bridge Replacement For I-15 Nears Completion
Published on November 27, 2009 at 01:33PM
(NORTH SALT LAKE)—The final bridge replacement for the Interstate 15 Express-Link project is near completion. The U.S. 89 bridge over I-15 from North Salt Lake will be closed Monday and Tuesday to switch traffic onto a new bridge. The Beck Street on-ramp to I-15 will also be closed, while the U.S. 89 bridge will be reduced to one lane until January as crews finish final construction work. As part of the project, the Utah Department of Transportation also replaced bridges at Beck Street, 1000 North and 800 North. The $25 million Express-Link project spans more than four miles and is scheduled for completion by next summer.
Weber County Considers Closing Justice Court
Published on November 27, 2009 at 01:20PM
(OGDEN)—Weber County commissioners are thinking about closing the Weber County Justice Court to save money. The move would leave four cities that prosecute cases in the county court with no place to go: Marriott-Slaterville, Hooper, West Haven and Huntsville each file their cases with the Weber court. Justice courts, once called justice of the peace, handle class B and C misdemeanors with the most serious cases being assaults and drunken driving. In the past four years, the number of citations the court adjudicates has dropped to 2,000 a year. The workload has declined substantially ever since the county’s largest city, Ogden, started up its own justice court said Deputy Weber County Attorney Dave Wilson. Wilson said the court could close by next summer. Weber County commissioners said they’ve been discussing the court’s future for at least four years, primarily because of fiscal constraints. City and county officials are expected to meet Wednesday to discuss options. The court’s staff includes a judge, two bailiffs and four court clerks.
Sardine Canyon Checkpoint Leads To Arrests
Published on November 27, 2009 at 01:12PM
(LOGAN)—An administrative traffic checkpoint on S.R. 89-91 near the Dry Lake area of Sardine Canyon resulted in five arrests and more than 100 warnings. The checkpoint occurred Monday near mile marker 12 in the area known as Dry Lake. The Utah Highway Patrol stopped 828 vehicles to make sure they had snow tires or chains, which are required in the canyon from November 1-March 31. However, troopers also made arrests for driving under the influence and drug possession among other things. UHP lieutenant Lee Perry says troopers gave 92 warnings to drivers for having bald tires, 69 warnings for defective windshields and six warnings for vehicles required to have mud flaps.
Clearfield Officials Balk at UTA Development
Published on November 27, 2009 at 01:06PM
(CLEARFIELD)—The Utah Transit Authority is considering revisions for plans to develop 70 acres of land adjacent to Clearfield’s FrontRunner commuter rail station. Clearfield officials say the proposed development would increase the city’s population by 8,000 to 10,000 residents (an increase of 30 percent), without adequately offsetting the impact of that many people. UTA’s master plan calls for more than 3,000 residential units, parking and 700,000 square feet of commercial and office space. Nevertheless, city officials say the UTA didn’t plan for schools, churches or open space. UTA real estate director Steve Hansen says he plans to get city personnel more involved to address their concerns.
MFC plans bigger profits for 2010
Published on November 27, 2009 at 08:44AM
(MORONI) – The Moroni Feed Company is preparing for a record year of turkey production next year. Kent Barton, CEO of Moroni Feed, says after severe financial losses last year because of high feed prices, he’s looking forward to a bounce back to increased profits. Barton said turkey growers are expanding their facilities in Sanpete County to accommodate more than four million turkeys that have been raised this year. He also commented that with the increased production at the plant, plans will need to be made to sell turkey products under the Norbest label beyond the traditional whole bird directly to retail customers. Those plans include cook-in-the-bag roasts, turkey pot roasts and marinated BBQ turkey steaks. Moroni Feed likes to point out turkey is healthy meat and believes people will consume more turkey if it’s available to them.
Marysvale family hospitalized in Thanksgiving crash
Published on November 27, 2009 at 08:42AM
Updated on November 27, 2009 at 09:34PM
(CENTERFIELD) – A Marysvale family was transported to the hospital with injuries after hitting a Blanding man on SR-89 south of Centerfield Thursday afternoon. According to a UHP report, 31-year old, Paul James of Marysvale was traveling northbound in a 1992 Cadillac Deville, when he hit a 1997 Dodge Stratus, driven by 18-year old, Jade Barben of Blanding at about 3pm. Barben had been stopped at the stop sign at Sugar Factory Lane and attempted to make a left turn on SR-89 when he was hit by James. The UHP report said that both drivers swerved to miss each other but were not able to avoid contact. James was taken to the Gunnison Valley Hospital with possible injuries as well as his passengers, 28-year old, Brittany James and six-year old, Kayton James, both of Marysvale. Barben was cited for failure to yield.