Story Archive for 07/20/2010
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Workforce Services Fires Two Over 'The List'
Published on July 20, 2010 at 01:41PM
(SALT LAKE CITY)-The Utah Department of Workforce Services has identified and fired two employees who they say are responsible for compiling the list of 1,300 supposedly illegal immigrants last week. The former employees also disseminated the list, and personal information, to the media and law enforcement officials. Tuesday, the Department said it initiated termination proceedings against the workers, whose names have not yet been released. According to DWS policy, access and distribution of personal and confidential records may be punishable by termination of employment. Furthermore, the misuse of confidential information may also constitute a violation of state and federal law. Information gathered during the Department’s week-long internal review will be handed over to the Utah Attorney General’s Office Wednesday morning for possible legal action. This 29-page list, which purports to contain private data about illegal immigrants began circulation last week after which Utah Governor, Gary Herbert, immediately commanded all state agencies to begin a review process to determine if the information originated within the state government. The news broke shortly after Governor Herbert’s roundatable discussion Tuesday afternoon.
Fire Burning @ Yellowstone National Park
Published on July 20, 2010 at 12:52PM
(YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo.)-More crews and aircraft are expected to help with a 385-acre wildfire burning near the center of Yellowstone National Park. Fire managers say two more hot shot crews, two hand crews and three more helicopters have been ordered to fight the fire burning two miles south of Beach Lake. The blaze was about a half acre when it was first spotted Sunday, but gusty winds drove it to about 385 acres by Monday afternoon. Two hot shot crews arrived Monday while three helicopters and two air tankers were also being used. The fire is burning seven miles southwest of the Bridge Bay Campground. Park officials say all roads and trails remain open. Officials are not yet sure how the fire started and it is the fourth this year at Yellowstone.
Governor Herbert Says Immigrant List Hurts Reform Efforts
Published on July 20, 2010 at 12:45PM
(SALT LAKE CITY)-Utah Governor Gary Herbert says the release of a list of 1,300 purported illegal immigrants has hurt efforts to enact irrigation reform. Tuesday, Herbert addressed a gathering of political, community and law enforcement leaders at an immigration summit roundtable that the anonymous mailing divided the community at a time when it should be coming together. The list was mailed to news media and law enforcement this month, rife with Social Security numbers, birth dates, workplaces, addresses and phone numbers. The list also demands that those who appear be deported, although some listed insist they’re in the country legally.
Gas Driller Faces Evacuation From Utah Reservation
Published on July 20, 2010 at 12:38PM
(SALT LAKE CITY)-The Ute Indian tribe is threatening to kick Questar Corp. affiliates and a spin-off company off an eastern Utah reservation where they operate wells and natural gas processing plants. Ute tribe Chairman, Curtis R. Cesspooch is making the threat after a federal judge in Salt Lake City exposed Questar to possible eviction from the Uintah-Ouray Reservation. Judge Dale Kimball lifted an injunction against tribal action after determining federal courts had no jurisdiction to resolve a contract dispute. Kimball granted the injunction July 1 but lifted it Friday. At issue is an effort by Questar spin-off company, QEP Resources Inc., to expand one of its gas producing plants on the reservation over tribal injections. Denver-based QEP told the Associated Press Tuesday it had no comment on the dispute.
UDOT warns of traffic delays on projects
Published on July 20, 2010 at 11:27AM
(RICHFIELD) – Several road projects in South-Central Utah are causing some traffic delays. The Utah Department of Transportation says finish work on a chip seal project on SR-118 from Monroe to the Livestock Auction may cause five minute delays. Another chip seal project at the Glenwood turn-off on SR-24 at Peterson Creek may cause 15 minute delays in traffic throughout the week. In Sanpete County, crews are leveling the roadway on SR-28 north of Gunnison in a chip seal project, causing 15 minute delays. The project extends north from Gunnison and past Fayette for several miles. UDOT says motorists should take the necessary precautions in work zones throughout South-Central Utah.
Arizona Lawmakers Say Newest Plan To Send Troops To Border Not Enough
Published on July 20, 2010 at 11:09AM
(PHOENIX)-When Arizona’s new immigration law comes into effect July 29, National Guard troops will be on hand to help enact the laws of the land. Nationwide, according to ABC-15 in Phoenix, there will be 1,200 guardsmen, more than 500 of which will be in Arizona. Arizona Senators John McCain and Jon Kyl are embracing the resources, but in a statement they released Monday, they still believe more needs to be done. Additionally, Arizona governor, Jan Brewer, who has pledged $10 million in stimulus money to help protect border cities such as Nogales, Ariz., and El Paso and McAllen, Texas, counties, and tribal lands says she would like more resources allocated to this project.
ARC conducts double blood drives
Published on July 20, 2010 at 10:54AM
(RICHFIELD) – The American Red Cross is hosting two blood drives in our local area this week. The first drive will be held this Thursday at the ambulance building in Richfield from 2-7pm. The bloodmobile unit will be located in the parking area of building at 925 North Main. ARC says the second blood drive will be held Saturday in Delta at the Senior Citizen Center from noon to 5pm. All those who have the ability to donate blood are invited to either blood drive.
Lightning Ignites Six Fires on Coconino National Forest
Published on July 20, 2010 at 10:50AM
(FLAGSTAFF, Ariz.)-Firefighters on the Coconino National Forest responded to at least six lightning-ignited wildfires Monday in such places as Strawberry Crater, Sycamore Canyon, the Mogollon Rim and one near Wupatki National Monument. These fires also included a 350-acre fire, known as the Tuba fire, about 20 miles north of Flagstaff and 1 mile west of U.S. Highway 89. As of Monday night, this fire was contained.
Richfield man lifeflighted in ATV accident
Published on July 20, 2010 at 10:44AM
(SALINA) – A Richfield man was lifeflighted to a hospital along the Wasatch Front Monday afternoon after his ATV rolled on top of him at Rex’s Reservoir up Salina Canyon. A sheriff’s report said that 74-year old Ross Harward was riding his ATV down a steep terrain near the reservoir at about 2:30pm, when he encountered several large boulders that had rolled onto the trail. The report said that in an attempt to back up his ATV, the machine rolled on top of him. Harward was able to get back to his camp with the help of those with whom he was riding but complained of shoulder, back and chest pain. The sheriff’s office also took a report of a 59-year old woman riding her ATV near the Fremont Indian Museum on Monday. She apparently stopped to do some hiking and broke her ankle. Search and Rescue was notified and transported the woman by ambulance to the Sevier Valley Medical Center in Richfield for treatment. No information was released on the woman’s name or location.
Coconino, Kaibab To End Fire Restrictions
Published on July 20, 2010 at 10:42AM
(FLAGSTAFF, Ariz.)-All campfire and smoking restrictions will be lifted on the Coconino and Kaibab National Forests as of Wednesday July 21 at 8:00 a.m., forest authorities said. Recent rain and higher humidity in northern Arizona have reduced fire danger in the forests, thus decreasing the risk of wildfire, the forest agencies said Monday. Until the statement, the Coconino National Forest was listing fire danger as “high,” and the Kaibab was listing it as “very high.” The National Weather Service is also projecting rain for the Flagstaff/Grand Canyon National Park area every day this week through the weekend.
Power Transformer Overheats; Ignites Brush Fire @ Veyo
Published on July 20, 2010 at 10:28AM
(VEYO)-Hot temperatures in Washington County caused a power line transformer to malfunction, igniting a brush fire along S.R. 18 near Veyo Monday afternoon. The quick response of BLM firefighting crew and the Santa Clara Public Safety Department quickly contained the fire, according to KCSG-TV of St. George. Tuesday morning, the Santa Clara Public Safety Department also confirmed that no one was injured and that everything has returned to normal in the area.
Extradition Hearing Scheduled For Warren Jeffs
Published on July 20, 2010 at 10:06AM
(SALT LAKE CITY)-An extradition hearing has been scheduled for polygamous sect leader Warren Jeffs. Jeffs, who was convicted in St. George on two counts of rape as an accomplice, is also indicted in Texas on charges relating to his “spiritual” marriages to underage girls as young as 13. The state of Texas served a fugitive warrant on Jeffs, who is in the State Prison at Point of the Mountain. Jeffs opted to fight the warrant and it is reported that his attorneys will argue he cannot be extradited to Texas until all of his appeals are first exhausted in the Utah case. Attorneys familiar with extradition law say usually another state’s warrant can only be rejected for “mistaken identity,” proof that you’re not the person named in the warrant. Jeffs’ extradition hearing is slated for July 27 at the West Jordan courthouse.
Skinny Dippers No Longer Charged With Lewdness
Published on July 20, 2010 at 09:55AM
(PROVO)-Lewdness citations have been dropped against eight people who went skinny dipping at Diamond Fork Springs in Spanish Fork Canyon after officials acknowledged a sign near the site was unclear. The bathers were cited last fall but the Utah County attorney’s office decided not to go forward with the misdemeanors. Part of the problem was a U.S. Forest Service sign warning would-be bathers to use discretion in removing clothes. The group’s members said they were confronted in October by Utah County sheriff’s deputies checking the area and were cited. Utah County’s Chief Deputy Attorney, Tim Taylor, said the office decided it was not a good case to take to trial. The Forest Service has since removed the sign, acknowledging it as “somewhat ambiguous” and prohibited nudity to match county law.
Utah Immigration List Makes National, International Headlines
Published on July 20, 2010 at 09:50AM
(SALT LAKE CITY)-Almost as quickly as the list of 1,300 purported illegal immigrants in Utah became local news, its notoriety has spread to national and even international levels. The story has made headlines in such papers as The Los Angeles Times, The Boston Herald and even French, Russian and British media outlets. Utah Governor Gary Herbert’s spokeswoman, Angie Welling, says other Americans are looking at Utah as a template for how to approach immigration reform. Herbert’s roundtable discussion on the matter is scheduled for later Tuesday where he is expected to host 30 guests in a discussion led by an unnamed moderator. Welling said she hopes Utah continues to make headlines in this matter for all the right reasons and that Utah’s fellow states will judge their ruling to be rational and respectful.
Deseret Chemical Depot Gets New Commander
Published on July 20, 2010 at 09:38AM
(TOOELE)-Utah’s Deseret Chemical Depot says Colonel Mark B. Pomeroy will take over as commander Thursday. Pomeroy has previously served as branch chief for the U.S. Army’s Nuclear and Combating Weapons of Mass Destruction Agency in Virginia. In Utah, he will succeed Colonel Gerald L. Gladney, who will become the Pentagon’s director for chemical demilitarization programs. The Deseret Chemical Depot is destroying the nation’s largest stockpile of chemical weapons and the Army says Pomeroy will bring this task to a close before finishing his two-year assignment in Utah’s west desert. The director of the U.S. Army Chemical Materials Agency, Conrad Whyne, will conduct the change of command in a ceremony Thursday. State and federal officials have been invited.
Marijuana Grow Found Near Panguitch; 1 Arrested
Published on July 20, 2010 at 09:21AM
(PANGUITCH)-Law enforcement authorities in Garfield County raided an illegal marijuana grow site Monday and destroyed thousands of plants. Garfield County Sheriff, James D. Perkins Jr., was tipped off a couple of weeks ago concerning the likelihood of a marijuana grow site when a man approached two teenage girls in the foothills west of Panguitch, armed with a gun. The man, Pedro Guerrero, is now in jail. The plants which authorities located had been growing for nearly three months and were about a month away from being harvested. The bust involved federal, state and local authorities. Guerrero, who had been deported previously, is believed to be involved in the growth. Upon arriving at the site, authorities discovered a stockpile of food as well as a network of irrigation pipe which Perkins says tapped into the Panguitch culinary water system. Grow operations are considered dangerous, especially for those who accidentally stumble upon them. Officials estimate anywhere from 6,000-8,000 plants were confiscated Monday and they plan to search the area for other growth sites.
Sanders Done in Indy? Wade Apologizes
Published on July 20, 2010 at 12:02AM
The Indianapolis Colts are often a team as bereft of controversy as CBS Sports’ Gregg Doyel, is of bad takes. Judging by their old-school, sweet blue and white uniforms and the classic horseshoe which has personified the franchise since their days in Baltimore, things haven’t changed much. Nevertheless, despite Peyton Manning’s straight-arrow reputation and the solid work ethic of the likes of Jeff Saturday, Gary Brackett and Austin Collie, things aren’t as propitious as they have been previously with the Colts. For starters, reliable wideout, Reggie Wayne, and defensive end, Robert Mathis, each of which are key contributors for the Colts, are both perhaps planning to hold out since they haven’t had new deals signed as of yet. Furthermore, hard-hitting safety Bob Sanders, who has not been able to play much over the past few seasons is perhaps considering retirement. Luckily for the Colts, Manning, who in my opinion will retire as the greatest quarterback of all time once he hangs up his cleats, is at the helm and will thus keep things going correctly. So, perhaps this will be much ado about nothing, but we’ll see what happens. All I know is the Colts have won at least 12 games for seven consecutive seasons, and I fully expect them to make it eight.
As for Dwyane Wade, he apologized for his World Trade Center comments and I therefore, forgive him. After all, I like all Marquette alums who make it in the NBA, such as ex-Jazzman Wesley Matthews, who the team did not resign, thus allowing Portland to pick him up. The Blazers will love him. I’m out.