(SALT LAKE CITY) – Charges were filed Tuesday against an Ohio woman for transporting more than 200 pounds of marijuana through Utah. According to a UHP report, 54-year old Georgann Hallenbrook was pulled over on I-15 near 1300 South in Salt Lake City for drifting back and forth across the lanes of the highway. UHP said a police dog sniffed out the vehicle and troopers found 238 pounds of marijuana, along with food saver bags, a food saver vacuum, a scale and rolling paper. Hallenbrook was charged with possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute, a third-degree felony. She was also charged with possession of drug paraphernalia, a class-B misdemeanor and failure to stay in one lane, a class-C misdemeanor.

(PROVO) – The father of the classical piano-playing group the Five Browns was ordered to prison today. Fourth District Judge David Mortensen sentenced 55-year old Keith Brown to 10-years-to-life in prison for sexual abuse of Brown’s three daughters when they were young. The judge was the only one who commented in court today, saying that he hoped the Utah Board of Pardons and Parole would keep Brown in prison for at least 10 years. He noted that there could have been “many more charges” as the abuse was ongoing. After the sentencing, Brown’s attorney, Steve Shapiro, said this is the first step in hoping that one day, the family would be together again. Prosecutor David Sturgill said he was satisfied with the resolution because it was what the victims wanted. Brown pleaded guilty to all three charges leveled against him in February, just weeks after they were filed. He had previously managed the Five Browns but had no connection with the children when they severed their relationship with their father in October of 2008.

(SANTA FE, N.M.)-KOB-TV, Channel 4 in Albuquerque, N.M. reports New Mexico Governor Susanna Martinez is naming a Navajo Nation businessman as secretary of the state’s Indian Affairs Department.

A senior aide to Martinez says Arthur Allison, the first Navajo to serve as the top leader of the state agency handling issues related to Native Americans, is being appointed to run the cabinet-level agency.

The aide spoke on condition of anonymity as Martinez plans to make the announcement late Thursday at Shiprock, N.M.

Allison owns a security services company based in Farmington, N.M. and is chairman of the board of Window Rock, Ariz.-based Dine Development Corp.

Previously, Allison served as division director of the Navajo Division of Economic Development from 1995-1998.

Allison has also earned a bachelor’s degree from Brigham Young University.

(SAN ANGELO, TX.) – New allegations have surfaced in the sexual assault and bigamy trial of polygamous sect leader Warren Jeffs. In documents produced by prosecutors in the case, a litany of heinous deeds reportedly committed by Jeffs, were filed under a San Angelo, TX. court-ordered seal on Wednesday. The documents also include Canadian court papers filed earlier this month that revealed additional allegations of Jeff’s underage marriages to four young women. Court records say that a total of at least 14 pre-teen and teenage girls were taken from a sect settlement in British Columbia to be married in the U.S. between 2003 and 2006, according to evidence seized by Texas authorities and presented this week in a case weighing whether the Canadian law banning polygamy is unconstitutional. According to a document written by Texas Ranger J. Nick Hanna, eleven of the 14 young women were married to men within the sect, including two to James Oler, who was then the bishop of the British Columbia community, at Bountiful B.C. Jeffs is currently awaiting trial in San Angelo, while his pre-trial hearing was pushed back to June 16.

(SALT LAKE CITY)-The Salt Lake Tribune reports that according to a new national report, Utah’s bridges are among the safest in the nation.

Wednesday, in a report published by Washington-based transportation reform group, Transportation For America, about 4.5 percent of local and state bridges in Utah have been reported by investigators as being “structurally inefficient,” meaning key support structures or their decks are in poor, deteriorating condition.

Thus, only one bridge of every 20 in Utah have significant problems, a mark which is good enough for fifth-best among states in the union.

This is less than the national average of 11.5 percent of all bridges being classified as deficient, according to the report.

The data shows Utah has progressed since 1988 when 13.5 percent of the Beehive State’s bridges were deficient.

The new list also included a list of the two busiest structurally deficient bridges in each state, while incidentally, one of those in Utah, the Interstate 15 bridge over Beck Street near North Salt Lake, was recently replaced.

The state with the largest amount of structurally deficient bridges was Pennsylvania at 26.5 percent, followed by Oklahoma at 22 percent, Iowa at 21.7 percent, Rhode Island at 21.6 percent and South Dakota at 20.3 percent.

(SALT LAKE CITY)-Wednesday, a groundbreaking ceremony occurred for the new honors residential committee at the University of Utah.

The Donna Garff Marriott Honors Residential Scholars Community will house students in the University of Utah’s Honors College.

The first phase of the 161,000-square foot structure will be at the corner of Mario Capecchi and South Campus drives and is expected to house 310 students and resident advisers while it will also feature a commons area and meeting places.

The design of the new complex uses Italian-influenced towers to mark communal space in the building and the current phase of construction is expected to be completed by June 2012.

Martha Bradley, the dean of the U.’s Honors college said the structure will eventually hold 1,800 beds.

(SANDY)-Five Utah high school students earned perfect scores on their ACT college entrance exams.

For their attainment, they were honored with a luncheon at the South Towne Expo Center.

Each of the students earned the highest possible score, 36, by receiving the highest points possible in the categories of English, mathematics, reading and science.

ACT scores are accepted at all colleges and universities across the country.

Students who receive a top score often are able to pick the school of their choice while also obtaining a scholarship.

(SAN ANGELO, Texas)-A West Texas judge has scheduled a pair of trials in San Angelo, Texas in the sexual assault and felony bigamy cases against polygamist leader Warren Jeffs.

The San Angelo Standard-Times reports stat district judge Barbara Walther set trial dates of July 25 for the count of sexual assault of a child and October 3 for the felony bigamy case against the leader of a Utah-based polygamous sect.

Prosecutors say the 55-year-old Jeffs had sex with two children, one under the age of 14 and the other under 17.

Jeffs would be the eighth of 12 men to be prosecuted in the wake of the April 2008 raid on the sect’s West Texas ranch.

(SALT LAKE CITY) – Several Utah ski resorts plan to remain open long after their normal closing dates due to continued snowfall. Many resort owners say they’ve recently passed the 500-inch milestone for snowfall during the 2010-11 ski season and a continued wet pattern could push the level past 600-inches. A series of storms hitting the state during the next three days could add another couple of feet at favorable ski locations, including Alta Ski Area in Little Cottonwood Canyon. Alta boasts a state-leading 527 inches so far this season and will easily pass its annual average of 540. The deep snow has already persuaded Canyons Resort to extend its planned closing date by a week to April 17. Alta, Brighton and Brian Head resorts all plan to be open through Easter Sunday. Snowbird is scheduled to remain open through Memorial Day. Other resorts will remain open through mid-April.

(SALT LAKE CITY)-As time progresses, Utah prosecutors say there is a growing population of offenders in the state who are incapable of understanding the crimes they commit.

Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill says his office calls these “offenders “tweeners.”

Gill further classifies “tweeners” as individuals with a dual diagnosis: an intellectual disability and a mental illness while they float between services for the “mentally retarded” as well as the “mentally ill.”

Defense attorneys argue they are not fit to stand trial so they often reoffend after they are released.

Group homes are hard to come by for these individuals in many instances as most of the criminals don’t qualify for Mental Health Court because of their aggression and what works for other criminals in terms of discipline won’t necessarily work for them.

Statistics on just how many “tweeners” go in and out of jail in Utah are nearly to find because law enforcement officers agencies do not track intellectual disabilities.

Roughly four years ago, there was a program in place for such offenders while administrators say the TURN Prison Diversion program was highly successful although its funding was cut and it was subsequently forced to close.

(SALT LAKE CITY) – The Utah Avalanche Center is closing for the season despite snowy backcountry terrain that beckons skiers and snowmobilers. Bruce Tremper, director of the non-profit U.S. Forest Service partnership, said the center will close April 3 due to a matter of budgeting. He said the center receives a certain amount of money each year and when the money runs out, the center closes. The Avalanche Center provides forecasting for a wide swath of Utah with critical information as snow piles up in the higher elevations. Tremper said that information is necessary especially in light of the recent rescue of trapped skiers on the Horseshoe Mountain above Ephraim, where one skier perished in an avalanche. He said in spite of the closing of the center, “hardcore enthusiasts” continue to ski the backcountry terrain.

(SALT LAKE CITY)-Wednesday, Utah Governor Gary Herbert vetoed four bills, including legislation that would have brought an end to the state’s four-day work week.

The governor said in a statement that H.B.328, sponsored by Representative Mike Noel of Kanab, was unconstitutional as it constitutes an “unwarranted intrusion” on his powers.

Furthermore, Herbert says by now Utahns should have become accustomed to the present schedule for government officials and eliminating current parameters would be a “simply bad policy.”

As of Wednesday, the governor also said he was issuing an executive order that by October 1, all state agencies will make “critical, public-facing services” available on Friday, either in person, online or with telephone support.

The bill would have allowed state employees to continue to work a four-day week but would have required offices to reopen on Fridays.

Former Governor Jon Huntsman Jr. had established the shorter work week in an effort to save state money on energy costs.

Other bills Herbert vetoed included SB229, which would have earmarked sales taxes for transportation projects, SB294, which would have made changes to the state’s health exchange program, and SB305, which would have used a Web-based tool to align education with needs of the business community.

SALINA, Utah (AP)-Kody Snow doubled and earned the win on the mound as the North Sevier Wolves got past the Richfield Wildcats, 12-9 Wednesday in non-region baseball action. Jordan Williams homered in the loss for Richfield while Austin Ashby and Robert Torgerson each doubled in defeat for the Wildcats.

(FILLMORE) – The Millard County Nominating Commission has selected five nominees to fill a vacancy in the Fillmore City Justice Court. The nominees include R. Jack Davies of Fillmore, John C. Kimball of Meadow, Kenneth Kipp of Oak City, John Peterson of Fillmore and Judge Stanley K. Robison of Delta. A comment period will be held through April 4 before a final candidate is selected by Fillmore City Mayor Eugene Larsen, who has 30 days to make the appointment. The candidate selected also must be ratified by the City Council and the Utah Judicial Council will certify the appointment. Judge Ronald R. Hare resigned from the justice court in January due to a charge of sex abuse at a state park last year.

(WASHINGTON D.C.) – Utah is among nine states in the country producing geothermal electric power with 12 other projects in development and eight others identified as viable prospects. In a report released Wednesday by the Geothermal Energy Association, the nation’s pursuit of geothermal power was detailed with an assessment of what projects already exist to make the United States the number one country in geothermal energy production. In Utah, Unit One of the Blundell Power Plant near Milford, has an installed capacity of 23 megawatts and Unit Two has a capacity of nine megawatts. Two years ago, the 10-megawatt Hatch Geothermal Power Plant, also in Beaver County, began delivering power to Anaheim, CA. The Utah plants, along with others in several states, have an installed capacity of 3,102 megawatts, or enough to power more than 2 million homes, that equates to the residential populations of San Francisco, Portland and Seattle combined.

(BRECKENRIDGE, Colo.)-KKCO-TV, Channel 11 in Grand Junction, Colo. reports Interstate 70 east of Grand Junction is slated to be shut down for two days next week so crews can remove some potentially dangerous rocks from above the highway.

Lanes in both directions are set to be closed next Tuesday and Wednesday between Silverthorne, Colo. and Empire, Colo. from 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. MDT.

The Summit Daily News of Frisco, Colo. reports the problem was discovered near Georgetown, Colo. within the last month.

However, the state of Colorado was unable to get a helicopter to help remove the rocks until now due to recent wildfires.

There are about 40 rocks about 300 feet above the highway ranging in size from 2-16 feet in diameter.

Two alternate routes are available, authorities say, Hoosier Pass and Berthoud Pass, but they are much longer.

Mid-Utah Radio publishes these remarks to help ensure the safety of motorists who may be traveling through our coverage area into Colorado along the I-70 corridor.

(GLEN CANYON NATIONAL RECREATION AREA, Ariz.)-The Arizona Daily Sun of Flagstaff, Ariz. reports staff at Antelope Point Marina at Lake Powell prevented a boat infested with quagga mussels from launching at the recreational area last week.

According to information from the National Park Service, the infestation was discovered Thursday during a routine inspection.

After staff decontaminated the vessel, it was quarantined for 30 days to ensure all infestation was killed.

The boat had previously been moored in a lower Colorado River reservoir that had been infested with the mussel.

The quagga mussel, called a zebra mussel, is an invasive species.

Lake Powell is currently considered mussel-free.

(FLAGSTAFF, Ariz.)-The Arizona Daily Sun of Flagstaff, Ariz. reports a detention hearing is slated for U.S. Magistrate Court in Flagstaff Wednesday in the case of three Navajo Nation men accused of shooting a man multiple times outside a Bashas’ supermarket on the reservation last Friday.

According to information from the U.S. Attorney’s Office at Flagstaff, the victim had gotten into an argument with one of the suspects at the Bashas’ parking lot at Pinon, Ariz.

The victim reportedly pointed a finger at the suspect and his girlfriend in a threatening manner while he and others started throwing rocks at the suspect’s car.

According to court documents, when the suspect and others in his car fled the scene, the victim chased after them in a pickup truck.

The U.S. District Court complaint claims that the suspect picked up two other men and they returned to the Bashas to get “retaliation.”

While the men drove, one suspect fired a .22-caliber rifle at the pickup, handing the rifle to a second individual who shot at the vehicle.

The victim was shot in the face, neck, arm and hand while he was later flown to Banner Good Samaritan Hospital in Phoenix for treatment.

The suspects claimed the victim had tried to kill members of their family in the past and told investigators they acted in self-defense.

Court documents state that the two families have a long history of confrontations.

Ryanson Taylor Begay, Delfred Taylor Begay and Tuff Murray Yazzie were each charged with assault and a deadly weapon, assault resulting in serious injury and assault.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark Aspey will determine whether the three men should be released from jail pending trial.

(SALT LAKE CITY)-University of Utah bioengineers are investigating how infrared light can be used to activate nerve signals in hopes of helping the deaf hear and the blind see.

Teams led by U. professor of bioengineering Richard Rabbit used invisible wavelengths of light to induce contraction in the heart cells of rats and make inner-ear cells in toadfish transmit signals to the brain, according to studies published this month in The Journal of Physiology.

Electrical stimuli is currently used in treating Parkinson’s Disease and other movement disorders, deafness through cochlear implants and in pacemakers.

Rabbit doesn’t see much of a market for his concept in pacemakers since the current line of these devices works well in regulating heart rhythms but cochlear implants could use some improvement.

Existing implants transmit to eight electrodes in the cochlea, the part of the inner ear which converts vibrations to nerve signals.

This allows a person to hear as many as eight frequencies, while the full richness of human hearing spans 4,000 frequencies.

Infrared devices would be biocompatible as they would not put conductive metal into the body, Rabbit said, because infrared devices can penetrate tissue.

Rabbit’s ear team used an optical fiber to deliver infrared laser in brief pulses to hair cells, the cells that sense head motion, inside the ear of an oyster toadfish.

Scientists use toadfish as a “model” organism in biomedical research because humans and fish have similar ears.

The team that worked on the ear included bioengineers from Evanston, Ill.-based Northwestern University and neuroscientists from Mount Sinai School of Medicine and the Marine Biological Laboratory at Woods Hole, Mass.

The heart study included U. bioengineering professor Robert Hitchcock as well as doctoral students Gregory Dittami, Richard Lasher and Suhrud Rajguru, who is now at Northwestern.

Both studies were financed by the National Institutes of Health.

(SALT LAKE CITY)-Authorities say there is still time for comment on a proposal to put in a 725-mile electronic transmission line that would cross much of Utah en route to the Southwest where it would deliver clean energy.

Since the end of January, about 700 people have attended close to 24 open houses occurring in four states, including Utah, to hear details about the TransWest Express Transmission Project.

The meetings, hosted by the Bureau of Land Management and the Western Area Power Administration as input sources in support of crafting an environmental impact statement.

Comments from those events have been submitted as part of the official record although electronic comments and written comments are continuing to be accepted through April 4 as part of a 90-day scoping period that began in January.

TransWest has sought right-of-way access for what would be the nation’s largest direct current line.

As presently constituted, it would start outside of Sinclair, Wyo., tapping energy from wind farms and end its course south of Las Vegas.

The 600-kilovolt line would convey up to 30,000 megawatts of energy to augment the western U.S. power grid.

All but about 43 miles of the line would be located along existing utility corridors or where corridors are already planned.

In Utah, the project impacts numerous areas such as Vernal, Utah County, Millard County and several others.

Official comments should be emailed to the BLM at WYMail@blm.gov.

People can also mail their comments to the Bureau of Land Management, Wyoming State Office, TransWest Express Transmission Project, P.O. Box 20678, 5353 Yellowstone Road, Cheyenne, Wyo. 82003, Attention Sharon Knowlton.

(SALT LAKE CITY)-A Washington state deputy has been cleared in a shootout that resulted in a suspect fatally shooting a Utah runaway and himself outside a Walmart store.

An investigation into the shootout revealed it was the suspect in question, 31-year-old Anthony Allen Martinez who took 13-year-old runaway Astrid Valdivia’s life.

Deputies were investigating a report of a suspicious person outside a Walmart store at Port Orchard, Wash. January 23.

At the time Martinez began firing gunshots at police, wounding two of them.

Another deputy, Kristin McDonald, returned fire, fracturing Martinez’s femur.

As the runaway went to check on Martinez, the Washington State Patrol report shows he shot and killed her while fatally shooting himself thereafter.

The prosecutor in Kitsap County (Wash.) determined McDonald was justified in shooting Martinez as he had fired at officers first.

Valdivia was reported missing from her foster home in South Salt Lake just the week before.

At the time of the shooting, Martinez had a court date scheduled in Davis County on kidnapping charges while he and Valdivia had run off together to Sacramento, Calif. last year.

(CEDAR CITY)-While details were scarce concerning the case of Parowan police chief Preston Griffiths’ misdemeanor obstructing justice and official misconduct charges in which he allegedly killed a dog, his local counsel wouldn’t talk about the situation either.

Griffiths’ lawyer and the Iron County prosecutor wouldn’t discuss his case after Fifth District Court Judge Michael Westfall set a June 7 pretrial hearing in Cedar City.

Wednesday, the St. George Spectrum reported prosecutor Patrick Finlinson has denied a Government Records Access Management Act request.

Finlinson says records are protected and won’t be available until after criminal proceedings are concluded.

Defense lawyer Ronald Yengich declined comment after Tuesday’s hearing.

A city resident alleges the 43-year-old Griffiths misled her concerning the slaying of her dog last summer.

Parowan Mayor Donald Landes says Griffiths is still on the job.

(WASHINGTON D.C.) – A new report by the U.S. Department of Interior (DOI) shows that about 57% of onshore acres under lease by the oil and gas industry, sit idle. The DOI issued the report to Pres. Obama on Tuesday in response to his mid-March request of the agency to determine how much public land already leased to oil and gas companies, remains undeveloped. Obama said the numbers bolster his premise that the industry should use what it already has and quit asking for more. The report was blasted by Rep. Rob Bishop, who chairs the House Resources Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands and the Western Energy Alliance, which represents 400 oil and gas producers in the West, including Utah. Bishop said the report is both disingenuous and intentionally misleading. Kathleen Sgamma, director of government and public affairs, said the report ignores the bureaucratic hurdles that exist to energy development. She said a lease is not green light to drill but just a first step in a long, expensive process that is fraught with bureaucratic red tape and lawsuits by environmentalists, determined to stop energy development.

KANAB, Utah (AP)-Bo Fotheringham and Slade Edwards each doubled as the Beaver Beavers routed the Kanab Cowboys, 17-2 Tuesday in Region 13 baseball action. Merrill Terry tripled in defeat for Kanab.

ENTERPRISE, Utah (AP)-J.B. Shumway earned the win on the mound by pitching a three-hitter as the Enterprise Wolves got past the Millard Eagles, 5-1 in Region 13 baseball action Tuesday.

SALINA, Utah (AP)-Colton Piep, Dillon Ortwein and Kody Snow each doubled and the North Sevier Wolves bested the South Sevier Rams, 9-5 Tuesday in Region 15 baseball action. Logan Baker doubled in defeat for the Rams.

RICHFIELD, Utah (AP)-Brian May amassed a hat trick and Jace Abbott added two more goals as the Delta Rabbits stymied the Richfield Wildcats, 5-2 in Region 12 soccer action Tuesday. Pablo Garcia scored in the loss for Richfield.

GUNNISON, Utah (AP)-Pancho Alcala posted four goals and Ethan Sileccia added another score as the Millard Eagles ousted the Gunnison Bulldogs, 5-1 Tuesday in 2A South soccer action. Diego Gonzalez scored in the loss for Gunnison.

BEAVER, Utah (AP)-James Joseph and Tyler Joseph had two goals apiece and the Beaver Beavers tripped up the North Sevier Wolves, 6-2 in 2A South soccer action Tuesday. Adam Kia and John Howard each added another goal apiece for Beaver while Landon Mickelsen had both goals in the loss for the Wolves.

PAROWAN, Utah (AP)-Carson Bell, Fernando Quezada, Jordan Benson and Nick Byl each scored and the Parowan Rams downed the South Sevier Rams, 4-1 Tuesday in 2A South soccer action. Nick Deryke had a goal in the loss for the Rams.

SALINA, Utah (AP)-Sadlee Brown homered but it wasn’t enough as the South Sevier Lady Rams surged past the North Sevier Wolves, 15-11 in Region 15 softball action Tuesday. The Lady Rams amassed an impressive 25 hits in the win.

(PAROWAN) – Iron County Commissioners amended the general plan on Monday to outline uses for 10 proposed wilderness areas in the county. The county is responding to a federal “wildlands” restriction mandate submitted by the Utah Wilderness Coalition identified in a Citizen’s Proposal for Wilderness in Utah. Iron County is calling for multiple uses in its wilderness areas following a lawsuit filed last Wednesday by the Utah Association of Counties and the Uintah County Commission against federal Interior Secretary Ken Salazar over repeal of a 2003 land designations settlement. The agreement called for the BLM to limit adding wilderness study areas. On Monday, Iron County referred to the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 defining the BLM mission as one of multiple uses.

(WASHINGTON D.C.) – The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is set to launch a major national survey concerning hunting, fishing and wildlife watching. Service officials say this is the 12th National Survey conducted by Fish and Wildlife, which has been promoted every five years since 1955. The survey begins April 1 and provides a comprehensive statistical database for participation and expenditures for wildlife activity in all 50 states. The last survey in 2006 revealed 87.5 million Americans enjoyed some related recreation and spent more than $122.3 billion pursuing their activities. Funding for the survey is conducted through the Multistate Conservation Grant Program authorized by the Sport Fish Restoration Programs Improvement Act of 2000. The survey involves 53,000 households nationwide on a voluntary basis and all responses will be kept confidential.

(SALINA) – Salina City officials have announced the city’s cleanup has been scheduled for April 15-29. The city leaders say that White’s Sanitation garbage dumpsters will be available for use at the top of East Main Street at the rodeo grounds parking lot. Salina City Mayor Conrad Miller and the city council hope residents participate by cleaning up their yards and property during the clean-up dates.

(PROVO) – A Utah fire official says a final report should be released this week on the massive blaze that destroyed the historic Provo Tabernacle in December. Fire Marshall Lynn Schofield wouldn’t preview the report due out Thursday but said the report ruled out arson as the cause of the four-alarm Dec. 17 blaze. The structure is owned by the LDS Church and officials have not said what the church will do with the building. The tabernacle dates back to the 1890’s and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975. Flames gutted the landmark structure that had octagonal corner towers and originally had a central tower that rose 147 feet into the air.

(OTTAWA)-As Canada’s political leaders gear up for a May 2 election, financial support for the family is becoming a hot button topic.

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper recently introduced a tax-cut-by-tax-split bill which would allow families with two parents who make more than $50,000 to split their incomes and thus lower their taxes by as much as $1,300 annually.

Under current Canadian law, if one parent earns $60,000 and the other earns $20,000, they pay nearly $1,300 more in federal taxes than they would if they each just made $40,000.

However, the bill won’t take effect until the country’s budget is balanced, which is expected to occur in 2015-16.

Canada already provides financial support for caregivers of children under 18 but has recently added a budget provision to provide financial support for adults who care for an ailing parent, spouse or disabled child.

The $2,000 Family Care-Giver tax credit would include all “infirm dependants” and is estimated to benefit nearly 500,000 Canadians.

Such legislation has been lauded by groups such as the Calgary, Alberta-based Christian Heritage Party, a conservative, pro-life, pro-family political group, which believes “strong families mean a strong Canada.”

The Canadian government is also supporting families by assisting with fees and other costs involved in getting children into dance, music lessons, or art camps via a Children’s Arts Tax Credit, covering up to $500 per child for qualifying expenses.

For decades, families have been an important political issue in Canadian politics although because the demographics of a prototypical Canadian family are continually changing, authorities say it is difficult to have one message resonate with so many diverse groups.

Nevertheless, Linda White, a political science professor at the University of Toronto says the image of a traditional family still has significant appeal.

(DALLAS)-Saturday, Deseret News president and CEO Clark Gilbert accepted a seat on the board of directors of the Newspaper Association of America, joining leaders of major news organizations, such as Dow Jones & Company, Hearst Newspapers and the New York Times.

Gilbert, Twitter co-founder Biz Stone and other speakers shared success stories and innovative strategies for newspapers at the NAA’s media Xchange conference at Dallas, the annual gathering of the nonprofit organization representing nearly 2,000 newspapers and their multiplatformn businesses in the U.S. and Canada.

Outgoing NAA chairman Mark Contreras praised Gilbert’s appointment to the board.

Contreras, who is the senior vice president of the Cincinnati-based E.W. Scripps Company, says Gilbert will be a fresh, encouraging voice in the traditional newspaper business.

The Deseret News is Utah’s longest running business and one of the nation’s fastest growing newspapers, both in print and online forms.

Gilbert has published numerous award-winning articles on media innovation while a professor of entrepreneurial management at the Harvard Business School with much of his work revolving around newspapers and their future.

Gilbert is also president and CEO of Deseret Digital Media, one of the largest targeted media networks in the company.

It also manages the commercial Web properties of the Deseret Media Companies, www.deseretnews.com, www.ksl.com, www.deseretbook.com, www.mormontimes.com and www.ldschurchnews.com.

Other new members of the board include Michael Fiorile, the president and chief operating officer of the Columbus Dispatch, Michael Klingensmith, publisher and CEO of the Minneapolis-based Star Tribune Media Company, who was previously at Time Inc., and Steven Swartz, president of New York-based Hearst Newspapers, which include more than 6,500 employees, 15 dailies and 38 weeklies.

(SALT LAKE CITY)-Renewable energy and quality of life are becoming more pivotal factors for businesses considering sites for relocation or expansion, attendees were told during an economic summit for Utah leaders Monday.

The overall livability of an area incorporates numerous different measures, such as clean water and air, medical facilities, education and culture, according to Mike Laffite, president of the Miami-based Americas for CB Richard Ellis.

Laffite said energy costs and sustainability are also increasingly important factors while Utah has an advantage due to renewable resources, such as wind, solar and geothermal energy.

Laffite served as a keynote speaker during the Utah Economic Summit, a one-day conference attended by hundreds of business executives and political leaders in downtown Salt Lake City.

While last year’s summit primarily focused on surviving the recession, this year’s rendition featured more upbeat commentary, especially concerning Utah’s future growth.

(MT. PLEASANT) – Over 40 volunteers from the Sanpete County Search and Rescue Team and other agencies spent more than 12 hours in a rescue of three skiers trapped in an avalanche east of Ephraim over the weekend. Kerry Nielson got the call Saturday afternoon and said he didn’t anticipate what he would be up against. The three skiers were among seven from the Logan and Salt Lake area that were testing for avalanche danger, when in an attempt to ski down a slope in the Horseshoe Mountain area, triggered the avalanche, burying three of the skiers. David Taylor, Commander of the Sanpete Search and Rescue, said the rescue was difficult. One of the skiers, 26-year old Garrett Smith, died after being buried in the avalanche for about 20 minutes. Nielson said the rescue team did their best to get the skiers out in time. The Sanpete Search and Rescue will hold their annual fund-raiser at KMTI radio in Manti on April 1.

(SALT LAKE CITY)-Jailed polygamous sect leader Warren Jeffs may no longer have control of his southern Utah-based church after a senior leader moved to replace him Monday.

William E. Jessop filed papers with the Utah Department of Commerce to take over as president of the corporation.

Jessop, who has previously served as bishop of the sect’s twin communities, Hilldale, Utah and Colorado City, Ariz., said his rise to the presidency is the fulfillment of an earlier directive from Jeffs, rather than a usurpation of authority.

In an interview with the Associated Press, the 41-year-old Jeffs said this is an attempt to preserve the church.

An attempt to reach Jeffs at the Texas jail where he is incarcerated proved unsuccessful and a telephone call to his criminal attorney was not immediately returned.

In 2007, the 55-year-old Jeffs was convicted on two felony counts of rape and was ordered to serve life sentences although the convictions were later overturned.

Earlier this year, while jailed and awaiting trial, Jeffs attempted to cede authority to Jessop.

In December 2007, Jeffs resigned as president of the church corporation, believing he could no longer manage day-to-day affairs while behind bars, although he still remained the group’s spiritual leader.

Commerce Department spokeswoman Jennifer Bolton said Jeffs would not have to formally resign as the church’s leader for Jessop to be installed although it remained unclear whether Jeffs would immediately lose all power in the Church or share it with Jessop, at least for now.

Jessop’s assertion of leadership is largely unprecedented and it wasn’t immediately clear whether the move will fracture or unite the sect which features 10,000 members throughout North America.

(SALT LAKE CITY)-The University of Utah’s College of Engineering, long renowned for a tradition of excellence in the state, will be giving thousands of elementary school students throughout the Salt Lake Valley the opportunity to play engineer this week.

The college is hoping to persuade more kids to become engineers by teaching children via real-world experience with straw and clay.

Deidre Shoenfeld, the program coordinator for the U.’s 14th annual Elementary Engineering Week says there is a shortage of students studying engineering and taking a general interest in math and science.

Thus, she says, the university is reaching out to elementary-age students, especially girls, minorities and first-generation college bound students to help them realize the vast possibilities that exist in the field of engineering.

On Monday, fifth and sixth-grade students played with straw and clay while educators say it’s important to teach kids how crucial engineering can be through real world experience.

Elementary Engineering Week runs through Thursday at the U.

(ST. GEORGE)-A Kmart store in St. George was burglarized early Monday, resulting in property damage and the loss of an, as of yet, undetermined amount of jewelry, St. George Police Department officials say.

Officers responded to an alarm at the store, located at 745 S. Bluff, around 3:00 a.m. MDT Monday, only to find one of the windows near the main doors had been shattered.

Police also discovered the jewelry counter had been ransacked during the apparent robbery.

The value of the stolen jewelry is yet to be determined but video surveillance shows several people wearing hooded sweatshirts and gloves entering the business, police said.

The investigation of the burglary is ongoing and anyone who has information about this incident is encouraged to contact the St. George Police Department at 627-4300 or 627-4301.

(PROVO)-Although Brigham Young University’s mens’ basketball team’s season ended last Thursday against Florida, national college basketball writers still rewarded Jimmer Fredette’s impeccable season with a prestigious honor.

Fredette, the sharpshooting senior from Glens Falls, N.Y., was named an All-American by the Associated Press Monday, primarily for leading the nation in scoring at 28.5 points per game.

The team has a senior flavor to it as other seniors on the team included Duke guard Nolan Smith, a native of Upper Marlboro, Md., who averaged 21 points per game and shot nearly 82 percent from the foul line for the Blue Devils and Purdue forward/center JaJuan Johnson, an Indianapolis native who posted who averaged 20.5 points and nearly nine rebounds a game for the Boilermakers.

Other members of the team included Ohio State freshman phenom Jared Sullinger, a Columbus,Ohio native, who posted 17 points and 10 rebounds per game while shooting 54 percent from the field and Connecticut guard Kemba Walker, a sophomore from the Bronx, N.Y., who averaged nearly 24 points a game along with five assists while leading the Huskies to the Final Four where they will face Kentucky Saturday evening at Houston.

Fredette received all but one vote from the 65-member national media panel which selects the weekly Top 25 rankings throughout the college basketball regular season, as well.

Fredette is also the Provo-based university’s first All-American since Danny Ainge in 1981. Incidentally, this was also the last time the Cougars made the Sweet 16, and actually made the Elite 8 before falling to Virginia, 74-60 in the regional final at Providence, R.I.

The second team was led by Marcus Morris of Kansas, a junior forward from Philadelphia, Arizona’s Derrick Williams, a sophomore forward from La Mirada, Calif., Notre Dame’s Ben Hansbrough, a senior guard from Poplar Bluff, Mo., Jordan Taylor of Wisconsin, a junior guard from Bloomington, Minn. and San Diego State’s Kawhi Leonard, a sophomore forward from Riverside, Calif.

Fredette and Johnson both appeared on the preseason All-America team, along with Duke’s Kyle Singler, Jacob Pullen of Kansas State and North Carolina’s Harrison Barnes.

(PRICE) – The Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry south of Price opened to the public on Friday but few visitors came out due to bad weather. Geologist Mike Leschin said only about 21 people actually visited the quarry over the weekend, located 30 miles south of Price. He said visiting the quarry is worth it because it houses one of the world’s foremost fossil resources. For now, the quarry will be open weekends through the last weekend in May and then a regular summer schedule will be established. To get to the quarry, travel Hwy 10 to the Cleveland-Elmo turnoff and follow the “Dinosaur Quarry” signs located at the intersections.

(GUNNISON) – Seven young women from Gunnison Valley competed for the title of Miss Gunnison over the weekend in the 42nd Annual Scholarship Pageant held at Gunnison Valley High School. Judges selected Bailey Hamblin of Centerfield as Queen with First Attendant, Gabby Malmgren of Mayfield. Kayla Peterson of Gunnison was chosen as Second Attendant.

(SALT LAKE CITY) – The U.S. Department of Education announced Friday that it will award Utah with an additional $2.6 million in School Improvement Grants to bolster the state’s lowest achieving schools. Starting next school year, Utah schools that receive the money, will likely have to replace their principals, increase learning time for kids, use educator evaluations that take student growth data into account, provide additional teacher training, reward educators who increase student achievement and remove those who ultimately don’t after receiving additional support, among other things. Seven Utah schools in the Salt Lake, Ogden, Granite and San Juan districts have made big changes to receive the grants for the next school year.

(SHIPROCK, N.M.)-KOB-TV, Channel 4 in Albuquerque, N.M. reports the Navajo Housing Authority will be conducting a two-day regional summit this week to discuss public housing needs on the vast Navajo Reservation.

The chief executive of the Navajo Housing Authority says the summit brings together regional communities, funding resources and services that connect tribal departments, entities and regional community members.

Tribal officials say the goal is to improve housing opportunities for Navajo families while managing community growth within the Navajo Nation more effectively.

The Navajo Housing Authority is the primary agency on reservation land to construct affordable homes for low and moderate-income families.

The Farmington (N.M.) Daily-Times reports the summit is one of five scheduled across the Navajo Nation and will run all day Tuesday and Wednesday at the Shiprock (N.M.) Chapter House.

(ST. GEORGE)-Town & Country Bank of St. George has named Wes Davis as a member of its advisory board, a group of 24 bank shareholders, who take on special assignments while providing business insight to the bank’s management team.

Davis, a senior vice president at St. George-based NAI Utah South, is a commercial real estate brokerage firm.

Since entering the commercial real estate field in 2002, he has won numerous awards, such as top listing agent, top producer and rookie of the year.

Prior to joining NAI, Davis worked for American Express Centurion Bank of Salt Lake City, where he managed a staff of more than 100 employees.

The 3-year-old Town & County Bank is located in downtown St. George and offers several innovative products, such as a Town Card, which rewards customers with time-of-purchase discounts at hundreds of local businesses.

Additionally, the bank also hosts free concerts every Friday afternoon at 12:00 p.m. in its lobby.

(SALT LAKE CITY) – Water watchers around Utah are carefully observing mountain snowpacks in preparation of possible early flooding. Brian McInerney, hydrologist with the National Weather Service in Salt Lake City, said this year’s “phenomenal” snowpack is rivaling that of 1983, when rapid snowmelt turned the streets into rivers over the Memorial Day weekend in downtown Salt Lake City. McInerney said that heavy, wet storms pounding the state over the past few days, have water managers on alert for possible flooding. He said that more wet storms are expected in the next few days, as well. Snowpack in the Wasatch mountains east of Salt Lake County is at 145% of normal and the Sevier River drainage is above normal. Utah’s water year officially ends April 1 and is rounding out to be among the best.

(POPLAR, Mont.)-For centuries, American Indians depended on buffaloes for food, clothing, tools and medicines and now, in these modern times, descendants are helping to preserve one of the last genetically pure herds in North America.

The Sioux and Assiniboine tribes of the Fort Peck Indian Reservation in northeastern Montana have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars preparing 5,000 rolling acres for 50 wild bison from Yellowstone National Park.

Their neighbors to the west, stationed at the Fort Belknap Reservation, have also asked for a role in managing the bison.

The animals are part of a federal quarantine program and are in need of a home while the tribes say they are ready for them.

Tribes are meeting opposition from ranchers, farmers and lawmakers, however, while Montana wildlife officials are currently considering sites for the five years remaining in the quarantine program.

The head of Fort Peck’s fish and game department, Robert Magnun, recently gave the Associated Press a snowmobile tour of the land set aside for the bison near the Canadian border, about 12 miles north of the tribes’ headquarters at Poplar, Mont.

Tribes and conservationists say the $200,000 price tag asked for is well worth the investment as Yellowstone’s herd of bison are a rare bunch in the regard that they never have to be domesticated and is the largest handful of buffaloes that has never crossbred with cattle.

Although the rewards seem to outweigh the risks, Montanan landowners are resisting these plans to relocate these quarantined animals to other areas of the state.

At least six bills with the intent to stymie relocation of the herds have been placed before the Montana Legislature.

The strongest one, sponsored by Republican Senator John Brenden of Scobey, Mont., demands a two-year moratorium on relocating bison until state officials write a management plan for what he calls “woolly tanks” that can wreak havoc on crops and land.

The tribes say their proposals have been greeted with silence from state wildlife officials who will make the decision on where the bison should be relocated.

Magnan said no one from Helena, Mont.-based Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks has formally responded to their proposal or ventured out to see what they have done to prepare for the Yellowstone bison.

(SALT LAKE CITY)-Utah Governor Gary Herbert is set to host his second economic summit in the state.

Last year, Herbert told more than 800 business leaders, lobbyists, and others that Utah’s economy was fragile, but improving.

His office says this year’s theme for the summit, which is expected to run through much of the work day Monday, is “Expanding Economic Leadership,” which reflects Utah’s strong and improving business climate.

Herbert says despite international economic challenges, the state is ensuing in its efforts to recruit and retain a strong business community.

The summit will host several nationally-recognized experts and specialists in such fields as real estate, finance, entrepreneurship and strategic marketing.

(SPRING CITY)-Rescuers have retrieved each of seven people trapped in a steep bowl on Horseshoe Mountain near Spring City after a debilitating avalanche last Saturday morning.

Authorities say the most severely injured man, who was completely buried by the wall of snow, was being taken off the mountainside around 10:00 p.m. MDT by a Sno-Cat and was unconscious, but breathing, according to Sanpete County Sheriff’s Office Sergeant Greg Peterson.

Peterson said another man, who was partially buried, was taken to an area hospital for precautionary purposes.

Peterson said while the man was walking and talking, it was decided he should be taken to the hospital for further evaluation.

Rescuers had to use ropes and other equipment in an attempt to reach the party, three of whom were swept into an 1,000-feet deep bowl when the avalanche struck around 11:30 a.m. MDT.

Four of the skiers’ friends were also trapped in efforts to reach the avalanche victims.

Peterson said the rescue mission was a risky endeavor as weather conditions in the area featured fog, blowing snow and eventual nightfall before the victims could be rescued.

Two teams, technical rescue and search and rescue, snowshoed into the area to rescue the victims, encountering rough, rugged terrain which Peterson deemed as “unsuitable” for winter recreation.

(SALT LAKE CITY)-Last Saturday evening, more than 1 million young women gathered in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints’ conference center in downtown Salt Lake City for their annual conference, which always predates general conference sessions of the Church by a week.

Young women, aged 12-18, and their mothers in many instances, were reminded to live according to the 2011 theme of the organization, honesty.

Sister Anne M. Dibb, the second counselor in the Church’s Young Women’s General Presidency, said honesty enriches relationships because they become based on trust.

Young Womens’ General President, Sister Elaine S. Dalton admonished the young women to be virtuous and to do nothing to compromise the integrity of the young men they associate with.

President Henry B. Eyring of the Church’s First Presidency said the young women in the audience were old enough to have a personal testimony of the Savior, Jesus Christ, and that each time young people of the Church choose to be more like Him, their testimony of His divinity increases.

Please remember you can hear all general sessions of General Conference on select Mid-Utah Radio stations.

For more information, please tune into our stations throughout the week.

(LAS VEGAS)-KLAS-TV, Channel 8 in Las Vegas reports Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood are expected to give an update on the status of a high-speed rail project that would connect southern California to Las Vegas.

Reid and LaHood are slated to discuss the rail project Friday during a press conference at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas.

Reid’s staff says the Desert Xpress project will increase tourism to southern Nevada and create more than 30,000 jobs.

(KINGMAN, Ariz.)-KOB-TV, Channel 4 in Albuquerque, N.M. reports that despite a highly-publicized jailbreak last summer, the Arizona Department of Corrections will resume sending prisoners to a privately-operated facility in Kingman, Ariz. starting next week.

The DOC ordered security and operational improvements after last July’s escape of three inmates from the 3,400-bed facility.

Officials found deficiencies, such as poor staff training and a faulty alarm system that gave false signals so frequently that staff members ignored it.

The three inmates who cut their way through a prison fence after an accomplice threw tools into the prison yard last July were recaptured several weeks later.

Two of the escapees face capital murder and carjacking charges stemming from the deaths of an Oklahoma couple near Albuquerque days after the escape.

Officials say restrictions will prevent the Kingman prison from receiving inmates convicted of murder or attempted murder or those who have a history of escape attempts.

(TUBA CITY, Ariz.)-The Arizona Daily Sun of Flagstaff, Ariz. reports a Tuba City, Ariz. woman was sentenced to 3.5 years in prison after pleading guilty to meth sales charges on the Navajo Nation.

According to information obtained from the U.S. Attorney’s Office at Flagstaff, the 33-year-old Windy Whilrwindsoldier sold meth to undercover officers during a two-year sting that targeted meth dealers on the vast reservation.

A co-conspirator was sentenced to nearly four years in prison for the same charge of possession with intent to distribute 5 or more grams of meth.

Overall, 22 people were arrested during the sting while 13 people have been sentenced, five others are awaiting sentencing and four more are awaiting trial.

(SALT LAKE CITY)-The Salt Lake Tribune reports the population of whites grew more rapidly in Utah than any other state during the past decade according to new 2010 census data released Thursday.

However, Utah’s minority population grew almost four times faster, up nearly 65 percent, for the fourth-fastest rate among the states.

State demographer Juliette Tennert sees the same reasons for both sets of numbers, deeming high birthrates and high “in-migration” by people attracted to an economy that had been stronger than those in many other states for much of the past decade.

The U.S. Census Bureau’s first set of national-level findings from 2010 on race and migration indicate a decade in which rapid minority growth, aging whites and the housing boom and bust were predominant themes.

Numbers for Utah indicated comparatively faster growth among both Utah whites and minorities while St. George was found to be the nation’s second fastest-growing metro area during the past decade (incidentally, Provo-Orem was the sixth-fastest growing metro area) and that Utah was the only state where all its counties grew in population.

Utah’s white, non-Hispanic population grew by nearly 317,500 people in the past decade while its minority population increased by roughly 213,300 residents according to census figures.

Thus, two of every five Utahns were minorities while one of every five Utahns is now a minority, or 19.6 percent, an increase from a mark of 14.7 percent last decade.

Utah’s 64.8 percent growth rate for the decade among minorities, including a 78 percent growth among Latinos, ranked only behind Nevada, at 78.1 percent, New Hampshire at 67.5 percent and Maine at 66 percent.

Tennert said Utah’s economy was better than those in the aforementioned states for much of the past decade, so immigrants of all races came to the state in droves searching for work.

Utah’s top U.S. growth rate among whites of 16.7 percent, was followed by Idaho at 15.5 percent, Arizona at 12.9 percent and Nevada at 12.2 percent.

St. George’s metro area total figures assert the area grew by 52.9 percent from 2000-2010, increasing from 90,354 residents to 138,115.

The report published in the Tribune gleaned information from both the Los Angeles Times and the Associated Press.

(SALT LAKE CITY)-The Salt Lake Tribune reports Utahns leaving young children in cars on extremely hot or cold days could be subject to a criminal charge according to a law signed by Governor Gary Herbert Wednesday.

Additionally, students may receive further instruction on the oil and mining industries and death-row inmates may see years knocked off of their appeals according to other actions Herbert fulfilled.

Democratic Salt Lake City Senator Ben McAdams’ SB124, was aimed at curbing the practice of leaving kids in cars and while it was defeated at the recently completed 2011 Legislative session, it ultimately passed.

The thrust of McAdams’ legislation was supported by 85 percent of Utah voters, according to a January poll conducted by the Tribune.

SB124 makes it a class C misdemeanor to negligently leave a child unattended in a vehicle during conditions which may pose a risk of hyperthermia, hypothermia or dehydration.

Under H.B.25, the brainchild of North Logan Republican Representative Jack Draxler, money from a state oil and gas conservation account will be used to fund school curriculum to further “mineral and petroleum” literacy among students.

While this would not be mandatory, the instruction would help balance curriculum on recycling and conversation, Draxler said.

By enacting SB202, sponsored by Richfield’s Kay McIff, the Legislature and governor are attempting to shorten appeals in death penalty cases.

Furthermore, the bill would generally bar a court from issuing a temporary stay of execution following a defendant’s first post-conviction petition.

Other bills signed by Herbert include H.B.171, which would require the state’s three abortion clinics to be inspected twice a year, one of them a surprise visit. The cost of the inspections would be covered by the clinic’s licensing fees.

Additionally, Herbert signed SB36, which would require an out-of-state applicant for a Utah concealed weapons permit to first obtain one from their home state, H.B.162, which would prohibit pedestrians from being on a freeway in the event of an emergency and H.B.324, which requires a person charged with a sex offense be tested for HIV upon request of an alleged victim.

(SALT LAKE CITY)-A new volume aimed at making the formative revelations of Mormonism dating to the 18th Century more “accessible than ever” for both scholars and Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints members has been published.

Revelations and Volume Two: Published Revelations, is the latest publication in the ambitious Joseph Smith Papers project undertaken by the Church’s History Department.

Bookstore orders are currently being filled now for the new, hardbound book which includes photos of each page of the 1833 Book of Commandments and the first edition of the Doctrine and Covenants, published in 1835.

These two early works proved indispensable to the Church’s doctrinal and administrative progressions in the entity’s early stages in this dispensation.

Photos and/or transcriptions of several other related documents, including selections from the 1844 edition of the Doctrine and Covenants, are included in the new book, which will sell for a suggested retail price of $69.95.

An anticipated 20 volumes of the Joseph Smith Papers will eventually be released in book form, three are now in print, which is scaled back from an earlier anticipation of 30 volumes, the church’s recorder and assistant historian Richard E. Turley Jr. said.

The latest volume in the series contains the incomplete Book of Commandments printed at Independence, Mo. in 1833 but was never finished as an anti-Mormon mob destroyed the printing press.

The new volume also features articles from the church’s “Evening and Morning Star,” which amount to the earliest publication of many of the revelations that appear in the text.

(SALT LAKE CITY)-This year, some of Utah’s ski resorts may be open longer than they are traditionally.

As a result of above-average snowpack in many of the state’s mountains, some resorts could be open until Memorial Day, or perhaps even longer.

For instance, the Canyons Resort at Park City had 20 inches of snowfall this past week alone, while nearby Park City Mountain Resort received roughly 19 inches in that same span.

On average, Utah receives about 500” of snow per year.

According to Ski Utah, typically most resorts close around mid-April.

(ST. GEORGE)-Law enforcement officials in southern Utah declared war on illegal marijuana growing operations Thursday after the significant finds authorities made last year.

According to data, 17 grow operations were busted in the state, resulting in 24 arrests.

During the proceedings, Wayne County Sheriff Kurt Taylor said public awareness is the key to curbing this problem as citizens invaluably assist authorities in locating the grows.

Police are hoping concerned citizens informing them about the grows will be a deterrent to criminals seeking to grow the narcotic on public lands.

Although spring has started late this year, authorities are convinced grows are already underway in many locations throughout southern Utah.

Federal prosecutors on hand at the St. George meeting also had a clear message for offenders, saying authorities will not only destroy the plants, the growers will be sent to prison for a long time.

U.S. Attorney for Utah Carlie Christensen says many of the grows are done by illegal immigrants, some of which carry firearms and are connected to powerful Mexican drug cartels.

Washington County Sheriff Cory Pulsipher mentioned there are more and more weapons found at grow sites all the time which poses danger to hikers or other recreation enthusiasts who may be in the anger.

The street value of the marijuana seized in Utah last year was worth $215 million, revealing considerable money is at stake in conducting this illegal operation.

Mike McKinney, a special agent with the U.S. Forest Service says people in the area need to ensure their personal safety if they are around a marijuana farm and swiftly get out while informing authorities about the sites so the offenders can be prosecuted.

(SALT LAKE CITY)-As Utah Governor Gary Herbert conducted his monthly press conference on KUED-TV, Channel 7 in Salt Lake City, Friday’s special legislative session, nuclear power and the firing of Indian Affairs director Forrest Cuch were among the topics he addressed.

Herbert said he believed the controversial H.B.477 will be repealed Friday, thus preventing many government documents from being inaccessible to the general public.

Additionally, he reiterated his stance that the federal government should be responsible for illegal immigration legislation although states are in the position of intervening because the federal government is reticent to do so at this stage.

Herbert expressed no apologies for dismissing Cuch and mentioned he is moving forward with nuclear power.

Herbert’s strategic 10-year energy plan is calling for the use of coal, along with increased development of wind, solar and geothermal energy as well as the consideration of a nuclear power component.

Herbert remains “unshaken” in his confidence that a discussion on nuclear energy’s uses in the state needs to occur.

RICHFIELD, Utah (AP)-Daniel Chavez amassed a hat trick and Giovanni Balderas added another score as the Manti Templars doubled up the Richfield Wildcats, 4-2 Thursday in Region 12 boys soccer action. Riley Duncan netted both scores in defeat for Richfield.

DELTA, Utah (AP)-Brian May, Jace Abbott and Jace Johnson each scored as the Delta Rabbits edged the North Sanpete Hawks, 3-2 Thursday in Region 12 boys soccer action. David Serrano and Trey McRae each posted goals in defeat for the Hawks.

SALINA, Utah (AP)-Tyler Garcia amassed four goals and the Grand Red Devils shellacked the North Sevier Wolves, 8-1 in 2A South soccer action Thursday. Carter Jensen had the sole score in the loss for North Sevier.

MONROE, Utah (AP)-Diego Gonzalez and Travis Carlisle each posted hat tricks and the Gunnison Bulldogs pounded the South Sevier Rams, 8-2 in 2A South soccer action Thursday. Nick Deryke had both scores in the loss for the Rams.

SALINA, Utah (AP)-Kelsey Barney doubled and earned the win on the mound to lead the North Sevier Lady Wolves to an 11-1 rout of the Milford Lady Tigers Thursday in non-region softball action.

MONROE, Utah (AP)-Kenzie Cave pitched a two-hitter while going the distance on the mound and the Carbon Lady Dinos stonewalled the South Sevier Lady Rams, 10-0 in non-region softball action Thursday. Megan Chisholm doubled in defeat for the Lady Rams.

FILLMORE, Utah (AP)-Ashlie Dearden homered while Keri Brunson and Megan Dearden each doubled to lead the Millard Lady Eagles to a 16-6 win over the Richfield Lady Wildcats Thursday in non-region softball action. Heather Taufer doubled in the loss for Richfield.

(GUNNISON) – Seven young women in Gunnison Valley are getting ready to compete for the title of Miss Gunnison Valley in the 42nd Annual Scholarship Pageant to be held Saturday night. The seven contestants include Bailey Hamblin, Whitlee Hopkins, Aspen Lee, Gabrielle Malmgren, Kayla Peterson, Brandee Watters and Breanna Young. Competition begins at 7pm at the Gunnison Valley High School Auditorium.

(TOKYO)-The Salt Lake Tribune reports dozens of missionaries representing the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Japan received an unexpected message this week, they would be going home immediately.

The Church decided to move more than 100 missionaries from the Japan Tokyo and Japan Sendai missions into the Japan Sapporo, Japan Kobe, Japan Nagoya and Japan Fukuoka missions and needed to open up some spots.

Missionaries currently scheduled to arrive in Japan in April will remain at the Missionary Training Center at Provo until further notice, according to William McIntyre, president of the Japan Kobe Mission.

The moves are part of the Church’s overall plan to keep its missionaries safe in the aftermath of the disaster.

Church leaders in Japan as well as at Church headquarters in Salt Lake City are working with government and humanitarian organizations to provide assistance, Church spokesman Scott Trotter said Thursday.

The Church has admonished members not to contact leaders in Japan, who have received numerous calls and e-mails offering help.

Instead, Trotter says, those wishing to assist should contribute via the Church’s Humanitarian Aid Fund.

(WEST VALLEY CITY)-The Salt Lake Tribune reports that a Mexican immigrant who joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints has brought a replica of the Izapa Stela 5, which a Brigham Young University scholar believes is a rendition of the Tree of Life vision from the Book of Mormon.

Earlier this month, the reproduction of the carved stone was unveiled at the Utah Cultural Celebration Center.

The convert, Rhosby Barker, is the director of Casa Chiapas, a West Valley City-based nonprofit group that teaches English and promotes civic education.

Barker says she worked with Chiapas officials to bring the replica to the center because of the link between West Valley City and Chiapas, Mexico.

Barker also said the stone is significant as many immigrants from Chiapas are already Mormons and picked West Valley City as their new home by design.

Izapa Stela 5, a slab of volcanic stone known as The Tree of Life, is one of a number of carved stones that were found in the 1930s in the Chiapas region along the present-day Mexican-Guatemalan border.

According to a news release from the center, Stela 5 contains complex imagery which researchers have identified as human figures, animals, botanical, inanimate objects and deity masks.

Different scholars have speculated the stone records a creation myth, a “fantastic visual myth,” and a “quasi-historical scene.”

In 1953, professor M. Wells Jakeman, the chairman of BYU’s archaeology department proposed this bas-relief image was a representation of Lehi’s dream in the Book of Mormon while other LDS researchers have drawn other parallels between these symbols and the authenticity of the book.

At the unveiling ceremony, which occurred March 10, West Valley City resident Donald W. Lowe presented a book to the city about his late father, Gareth W. Lowe, who served as field director of BYU’s New World Archaeological Foundation and directed excavation at the Stela 5 site in the 1960s.

Lowe said more than 100 stones were found, most featuring one to three elements, saying Stela 5 was the most important.

(SALT LAKE CITY)-An environmental group is asking state water quality regulators to revisit their decision to issue a groundwater discharge permit related to a tar sands project on th border of Uintah and Grand counties.

In a petition for agency action submitted to the state Department of Environmental Quality while Moab-based Living Rivers is contesting the February issuance of the permit to Earth Energy Resources.

The PR Springs Mine, as proposed by Calgary, Alberta-based Earth Energy Resources, would occupy a 213-acre site and involves the mining of enough tar sands to extract 2,000 barrels of bitumen on a daily basis.

The life of the mine is expected to be seven years.

Bitumen is the heaviest and thickest form of petroleum and has been used in industrial applications, such as roofing and asphalt paving.

Bitumen can later be converted into fuel by processes that have long aroused skepticism while some say the technologies have been prohibitively expensive and unproven.

Earth Energy Resources vice president Barclay Cuthbert has told regulators the project would not be pursued if it wouldn’t generate revenue.

In its proposal, the company plans to use a chemical extraction method on the mined tar stands, which has brought objections by environmentalists worried about groundwater contamination from both the mining and extraction processes.

Living Rivers says the company plans to use an extremely condensed form of oil in the extraction process which is derived from citrus peels and used in cosmetics and perfumes.

While at full strength, it is used to degrease parts and tools.

Although the oil would be mixed with water, Living Rivers says the extraction concentration has not been publicly disclosed by the company.

An environmental consultant hired by Earth Energy Resources has advised state regulators that the mining operation’s design has incorporated the necessary safeguards and controls related to the potential risks to groundwater, including a storm water contaminant system.

Environmentalists have also challenged the project’s permitting process under the purview of the state division of oil, gas and mining.

(SALT LAKE CITY)-Salt Lake City’s FBI office says Utah’s attorneys should be on the lookout for an email scam promising opportunities to make easy money.

Wednesday, FBI Special Agent in-Charge James McTighe said con artists are attempting to hire attorneys over the Internet to allegedly resolve a financial dispute or serve as an intermediary in legal matters such as divorce and debt collections.

In cases investigated thus far, attorneys have been paid for their work with settlement checks which later bounced.

The FBI says the attorneys have had to repay their banks but as of yet have been unable to locate their Internet “clients” or recover any funds.

McTighe says at least four attorneys in Utah, Idaho and Montana have fallen victim to scams while several others have reported receiving the emails.

(SALT LAKE CITY)-Wednesday, Utah Governor Gary Herbert hosted Native American tribal leaders to discuss the sudden dismissal of Indian Affairs director Forrest Cuch late last month.

Thus far, Herbert’s efforts have leaved much to be desired for tribal officials.

Some tribal leaders said they were “very upset” Cuch was fired without warning from the position he had retained since 1997 while Utah Tribes Chairman Kenneth Maryboy said Wednesday after the tribal council’s quarterly meeting at the Little America Hotel in downtown Salt Lake City.

He said the council plans to send the governor a letter asking for an apology for the way he was dismissed.

Cuch, who was not invited to the meeting, said he has never given an explanation as to why he was fired and has not since spoken with the governor or any member of his staff since he was let go February 26 via a letter read to him by a supervisor.

Herbert’s spokeswoman, Ally Isom, said in a statement issued late Wednesday, Herbert felt Cuch was not as engaged and productive as a liaison to the tribes as he should have been.

Isom said tribal leaders seemed “satisfied” with the governor’s explanation during the two-hour meeting and their request for an apology appeared to be a significant reversal from earlier in the day.

Isom said during the meeting, the governor asked tribal leaders for input in choosing a new director while he is looking for someone who is passionate about duties and delivering successful results.

(SALT LAKE CITY)-Utah senior Senator Orrin Hatch and the state’s Attorney General, Mark Shurtleff, say on the anniversary of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act’s establishment, Utah businesses are hurting.

Hatch and Shurtleff have sought to change the law since President Barack Obama signed it into existence while they contend Obama’s national health care plan costs too much, spends too much and creates gratuitous taxes for Utahns.

Wednesday, Hatch said the health care plan has created an additional $118 in spending as a consequence of unfunded state mandates.

Furthermore, he says it has also created higher premiums, fewer jobs and new taxes, especially for small businesses.

While the act doesn’t fully go into affect until 2014, Hatch and Shurtleff say by then, serious damage may have already been inflicted upon small businesses.

One particularly debilitating mandate in the bill, Hatch and Shurtleff say, requires all companies to issue a 1099 form to any individual or corporation buying more than $600 in goods or services from a business.

Mark Lewon, the owner of Salt Lake City-based Utah Metal Works says this places provisions upon his company which make it harder to be profitable.

Judi Hilman of the Utah Health Policy Project says she is constantly fighting to educate people about what the bill does and what it doesn’t do.

Meanwhile, Hatch and Shurtleff continue to state requiring health care for everyone is unconstitutional.

(BLUFFDALE)-As many as 4 million homes in Japan still are bereft of power after the recent earthquake and tsunami but a Utah charity is seeking to repel this problem.

Bluffdale-based TIFIE Humanitarian will be sending solar units to improve immediate power shortages for residents in The Land of the Rising Sun who are still affected by the complete loss of any electricity infrastructure.

TIFE, an acronym standing for Teaching Individuals and Families Independence through Enterprise while the organization is partnered with Goal Zero, also of Bluffdale, who will provide a line of portable solar kits.

The electricity produced from these kits will make a big difference for Japanese families still struggling without electricity.

The solar panel collects power and connects to the battery pack which stores power.

Meanwhile, the power pack will run high-efficiency LED lights 50 hours on one charge.

Furthermore, it can run a laptop for six hours or charge a cell phone 30 times one one full charge.

When a family puts the solar panel in the sun and plugs it, the earthquake victims will receive power instantaneously.

Previously, TIFIE sent kits to Haiti last year and has already delivered 300 similar kits to Japan.

TIFIE is also taking contributions to increase the number of kits they’ll send.

(SALT LAKE CITY) – The Utah Association of Counties and the Uintah County Commission filed a lawsuit Wednesday against Interior Secretary Ken Salazar over wildlands designations in Utah. The complaint in federal court challenges Salazar’s Secretarial Order 3310, which the associations say upends a settlement agreement reached by then-Gov. Mike Leavitt and the Department of Interior over such land designations. Salazar issued the order in December, much to the alarm of elected officials in Western states, that depend on extraction industries, grazing and the “multi-use” approach to generate revenue. Gov. Gary Herbert has jumped on the criticism bandwagon, when he was notified in December last year of Salazar’s order. In the order, Salazar directs the BLM to conduct a “re-inventory” of public lands to assess them for potential “wild lands” designations. The suit says more than half of the natural gas and oil produced in Utah comes from Uintah County, which receives about 40% of the revenues paid to the state. Beyond the impact to Uintah County, the suit says the shift could impact 22.9 million acres of federal surface lands and 22 million acres of “mineral estate” in Utah.

(RICHFIELD) – Rep. Jason Chaffetz held a town hall meeting in Richfield Wednesday afternoon. In the standing-room only Commission Chambers, Chaffetz spoke on the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya and said the biggest problem still facing America right now, is the national debt. At the hour-long meeting, Chaffetz commented that he’s lucky to be a common person to represent constituents in the 3rd Congressional District. He said he’s been fortunate to be able to question Pres. Barack Obama on his policies and speak with Generals in the military that he would otherwise not have had a chance. Richfield was the last stop in a whirlwind tour of South-Central Utah before the congressman went back to his family in Provo.

(SALINA) – Ten young women are set to compete for Miss North Sevier this weekend. This year’s contestants include Taylor Sorenson and Ashlie Scott, both of Aurora, along with Alayna Leaming, Erika Owen and Corie Mochizuki of Redmond. Also, Mickey Henson, Sadiee Bown, Mariah Ellett, Chyna Stuart and Taylor Torgerson, all of Salina, are ready for competition. The theme this year is, “Miss North Sevier Through the Years,” in commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of the pageant. Miss North Sevier 2010, Chevia Gates and Miss North Sevier 1990, Cammy Peterson, will serve as Masters of Ceremony. The event is scheduled to get underway at 7pm Saturday at the North Sevier High School Auditorium.

(SAN FRANCISCO) – A federal appeals court has refused to allow homosexual marriages to take place in California while it considers the constitutionality of the state’s ban. The 9th U.S. Court of Appeals made the ruling today in San Francisco. California Attorney General Kamala Harris had joined homosexual marriage proponents in urging the appeals court to lift a stay that had been placed by a lower court to strike down Proposition 8. Lawyers for two same-sex California couples argued that homosexuals are being hurt each day the ban remains in effect. Attorneys sought to lift the stay after the California Supreme Court recently said it would take at least until the end of the year to consider a legal question asked by the appeals court in the case.

(SALT LAKE CITY) – A Salt Lake City man has been fined for setting his car on fire on BLM land in an attempt to save his home from foreclosure. Erin Darboven, with the BLM, said John Maxim was facing foreclosure and devised a scheme that he would torch his car and show the video online, if people would help him raise $15,000. Darboven said Maxim set his car ablaze on BLM land at Lone Rock in Skull Valley in Tooele County. Maxim contended there was nothing but barren soil at the location of the fire but Darboven said if others see damaged land, they might damage it, too. He said public land should not be used for such purposes. Maxim was arrested and pled guilty to two misdemeanor counts of creating a hazard and a nuisance and causing a fire other than a campfire. He was fined $1,000 and ordered to pay about $2400 in restitution to the BLM.

(RICHFIELD) – A public hearing was held at the Richfield City Council meeting Tuesday night to gain comment on the impacts to the private sector in the construction of a new water tank west of the city. Few attended and no negative comments were made. The $1.25-million project would fund the construction of a new 1.5-million gallon water tank through grants and loans the city secured from the Community Impact Board recently. Also at the meeting, the city council approved new water connection fees for developed and undeveloped property. City Manager Mike Langston said three-quarter-inch service would be $1,155, one-inch service would be $1,310 and larger would be the actual cost of labor and materials on undeveloped property. Langston said that three-quarter-inch service would be $275 and one-inch service would be $350 and larger service would be the actual cost of labor and materials on developed property. He also said that sales tax revenue projections are down two percent since last year and set a schedule for a budget study session.

(SALT LAKE CITY)-KTVX-TV Channel 4 in Salt Lake City reports officials say an airliner bound for Los Angeles made an emergency landing at Salt Lake City International Airport after its crew reported the smell of smoke on the plane.

Delta Airlines spokeswoman Gina Laughlin stated Flight 2621 returned to the airport after the crew reported the odor in the plane’s rear galley.

Laughlin said it landed without incident or injuries at the airport where maintenance crews are checking the plane.

Laughlin says the 147 passengers flying on the Atlanta-based airline have been placed on another flight.

(SALT LAKE CITY)-Tuesday, a woman who assisted in a 2009 sexual assault case was sentenced to more than 11 years in prison.

The 41-year-old Cynthia Bitsuie Jones of Montezuma Creek was sentenced to 140 months in federal prison for assaulting a woman while then holding her down while her son and another man sexually assaulted her, according to a news release.

The attack occurred December 2, 2009 in a remote area of the Navajo Nation.

Prosecutors said the three defendants had been drinking heavily with the victim and a 17-year-old girl when the victim became upset that Bitsuie Jones was allowing her children to drink.

Federal prosecutors said, in a sentencing memorandum, that facts in the case “clearly show” Bitusie Jones caused “serious bodily injury” by severely assaulting, hitting and kicking the victim to the point that the victim was knocked to the ground, could barely see and was evidently rendered unconscious.

When the victim woke up after the assault, she found her clothing but failed to procure her jacket or car keys.

She then used a tool to start up her vehicle and with both eyes swollen shut, drove to a hospital.

Prosecutors said hospital workers documented 42 distinct injuries on her body.

The other two defendants in the case, each Montezuma Creek residents, were sentenced to federal prison by U.S. District Judge Ted Stewart late in 2010.

Bitsuie-Jones’ son, 21-year-old Michael Whitehorse, was sentenced to 46 months, while an acquaintance, 43-year-old Johnson Joe, was sentenced to 110 months of incarceration.

Stewart ordered Bitsuie-Jones to be on supervised release for life once her prison sentence is completed.

(WASHINGTON)-This January, the White House set a goal for the U.S. to once again reign atop the world’s standings in terms of college graduates by 2020 while Tuesday, Vice President Joe Biden set out to ensure the process was well underway.

Tuesday, Biden released a 23-page state tool kit to guide states and governors in the hopes of increasing the graduation rate by 50 percent or 8 million more students with degrees in the next nine years.

The tool kit accentuates seven strategies: setting goals, while developing an action plan, embracing performance-based funding, aligning high-school standards with college entrance and placement standards, making it easier for students to transfer, using data to drive decision-making, accelerating learning and reducing costs and targeting adults, especially those with “some collegiate experience, but no degree.”

Biden’s data reveals Arkansas, Nevada and New Mexico have the lowest proportion of college graduates for adults aged 25-34 at 28 percent apiece.

The District of Columbia has the highest proportion of college graduates with 65 percent of adults aged 25-34 having graduated.

Additionally, Tennessee and Maryland announced plans to help increase their graduation rates Tuesday.

Furthermore, the White House announced it will be setting federal money aside to help states reach their goals.

States can begin sending applications for the 2011 Comprehensive Grant program which promises to reward innovative reform.

Meanwhile, the 2012 federal budget features $123 million set aside for institutions which develop innovative practices and accelerate learning, boost completion rates and keep tuition prices low.

States would also be able to apply for another $50 million in grant funds to institutions which develop practices that produce more college graduates.

(SALT LAKE CITY)-Lawmakers and community leaders meet today to discuss H.B.477, the controversial measure that restricts public access to government records.

The “working group,” is comprised of eight lawmakers, members of both traditional and new media and citizen representatives.

The group has been asked to discuss H.B.477 while possibly coming up with a new proposal for the restricted government public records law.

The group will bring the proposal to a legislative interim committee in anticipation of Friday’s special legislative session.

The Utah Media Coalition, which represents 53 organizations around the state says it is preparing to strongly promote the push for the repeal and plans to conduct a rally at the Capitol building Friday.

(SALT LAKE CITY)-After a class conversation at Salt Lake City’s Granite Peaks High School turned to the ramifications of nuclear energy in Utah, Governor Gary Herbert showed up several days later to discuss the impact it will have on the state in the future.

Tuesday, Herbert spent about 35 minutes answering questions from students in the school’s auditorium while one student, Sydnie Ross, also spoke with an official from Provo-based Blue Castle Holdings, a private entity seeking to build a nuclear plant near Green River, to get informed about the company’s motives.

Herbert discussed the pros and cons of nuclear energy, saying he was simply trying to instigate conversation on the matter rather than advocate for its inclusion in the state.

Herbert also discussed water and waste issues along with efficiencies and environmental benefits.

Before he left, Herbert reminded the students to vote for the issues that matter to them once they are eligible.

(TOPEKA, Kan.)-While the Utah Compact has received plaudits in national publications for its innovative way in legislating illegal immigration, Utah’s peers have taken notice and introduced similar legislation.

In Kansas, Democratic State Senator Louis Ruiz, who serves District 32 in much of the Kansas City, Kan. area, has introduced the Kansas Compact, which is largely based on many of the tenants in the Utah Compact.

Ruiz, in an interview with KSL-AM 1160 in Salt Lake City, says he was open to similar legislation because he believes illegal immigration should be a federal matter.

Ruiz admitted something needs to be done about people working in the country illegally, many of whom are paying car and food taxes.

Ultimately, Ruiz says he hopes to help mend Kansas’ image on immigration with the resolution.

Last week, Kansas GOP Representative Virgil Peck, who represents the state’s 11th District, made controversial comments by suggesting illegal immigrants be hunted like “feral hogs,” bringing international scrutiny down upon the Sunflower State.

Ruiz says Peck’s comments were vitriol rhetoric and while Peck apologized on CNN, the stain still remains in the state which houses nearly 3 million residents.

Compacts similar to the Utah Compact are also being developed in Texas, Florida, Colorado, Arizona and Nebraska.

(HOUSTON)-Tuesday, Houston-based Harvest Natural Resources Inc. stated it plans to sell its oil and gas assets in Utah’s Uinta Basin to Newfield Exploration Company, which is also based in Houston, for $215 million in cash.

Harvest personnel say the assets include 47,600 net acres in the Uinta Basin while Harvest had a working interest in roughly 70 percent of those assets.

The deal is expected to close in May while Harvest believes net proceeds from the sale should be roughly $205 million after deducting transaction-related costs.

Harvest says the sale will be integral in helping the company focus on its international portfolio while reducing its debt.

DELTA, Utah (AP)-Kyle Church earned the win on the mound and the Delta Rabbits amassed 13 hits as they clobbered the Juab Wasps, 10-3 Tuesday in Region 12 baseball action.

MONROE, Utah (AP)-Braden Harris homered and Rylan Anderson added a double as the Gunnison Bulldogs decimated the South Sevier Rams, 13-2 in Region 15 baseball action Tuesday. Logan Baker doubled in the loss for the Rams.

BEAVER, Utah (AP)-Seth Myers homered and Slade Edwards added a pair of triples as the Beaver Beavers pounded the American Leadership Eagles, 12-1 Tuesday in non-region baseball action.

MANTI, Utah (AP)-Tyler Berry went the distance on the mound while tossing seven strikeouts as the Manti Templars bested the North Sevier Wolves, 8-1 in non-region baseball action Tuesday. Berry and Colton Hamilton also doubled in the win for Manti while Dillon Ortwein and Joey Edwards doubled in defeat for the Wolves.

RICHFIELD, Utah (AP)-Jordan Williams hit a key grand slam in the 6th inning and Caden Lowry and Robert Torgerson each doubled to lead the Richfield Wildcats to a 9-8 win over the Parowan Rams Tuesday in non-region baseball action.

MOAB, Utah (AP)-Four different Grand Red Devils scored in a 4-1 win over the Beaver Beavers in 2A South soccer action Tuesday. Adam Kia scored the sole goal in defeat for the Beavers.

SALINA, Utah (AP)-Jesse Rhodes amassed five goals while Brian Araos posted a hat trick as the Millard Eagles pummeled the North Sevier Wolves, 13-1 Tuesday in 2A South soccer action. Nate Robison and Trey Ashton added a pair of goals apiece and Dayton Komerak also scored for Millard while Landon Mickelsen had the only goal for the Wolves in the loss.

GUNNISON, Utah (AP)-Austin Burr scored the winning goal as the Gunnison Bulldogs edged the Parowan Rams, 3-2 in 2A South soccer action Tuesday. Diego Gonzalez and Victor Villanueva also scored in the win for the Bulldogs.

DELTA, Utah (AP)-Kaylee Ockey doubled and Shelbie Ballow earned the win on the mound as the Juab Lady Wasps waxed the Delta Lady Rabbits, 13-5 Tuesday in Region 12 softball action. Alyssa Johnson homered in the loss for Delta.

MONROE, Utah (AP)-Tasha Nielson homered while Becca Imes and Dacey Mattinson each doubled as the South Sevier Lady Rams hammered the Gunnison Lady Bulldogs, 13-4 in Region 12 softball action Tuesday. Whitney Hansen doubled in defeat for Gunnison.

PRICE, Utah (AP)-Abby Hatch homered and the Manti Lady Templars outlasted the Carbon Lady Dinos, 10-7 Tuesday in non-region softball action. Tauni McFarland earned the win on the mound for Manti.

SALINA, Utah (AP)-Melissa Quarnberg hit a key RBI late in the game to help the North Sevier Lady Wolves get past the Parowan Lady Rams, 11-10 in non-region softball action Tuesday.

(ST. GEORGE) – Southern Utah has secured much needed funding to get reimbursed for expenses related to flooding due to severe winter storms that occurred during the latter part of December. The Federal Emergency Management Agency awarded more than $1.2 million to state and local agencies for the recovery effort. Utah Division of Homeland Security Spokesman, Joe Dougherty, said most of the funds went to the Virgin River project. He said the funding went to flood areas in Washington, Kane and Garfield Counties, as well as to the Public Assistance Program that helps communities restore infrastructure damages to eligible applicants.

(SPANISH FORK) – A 17-year old Spanish Fork boy is alive and recovering after a near-deadly fall at Arches National Park. News reports said that Christian DeHaas was on a school trip in Moab when he fell 80 feet off of a mountain. After five days in the hospital, the teenager is back home with a remarkable recovery story. Just a few days ago, DeHaas was in intensive care at St. Mary’s Hospital in Grand Junction, after falling 80 feet during a hike in the Windows area of Arches National Park. Park rangers said DeHaas rolled out of control until a flat surface stopped him. He suffered severe brain trauma, spinal fractures, multiple skull fractures, two collapsed lungs, a broken scapula and a broken wrist. DeHaas’s family said when they drove home from Grand County Sunday night, their street was filled with neighbors, friends and family holding signs and welcoming them home.

(PAROWAN) – Some Parowan residents are saying that it’s tough being a dog in the city limits. According to police reports, several family pets have been shot within city limits in the last year, including one at the hand of the police chief last week. Parowan Mayor Donald Landes told reporters at the Salt Lake Tribune that with all the issues we have to talk about, there are many things more important than a dog. Landes, though, quickly clarified his remarks, saying that he was speaking in reference to the shooting of a loose dog by Police Chief Preston Griffiths, who deemed the dog as “vicious” and the events occurring in Japan.

(WINDOW ROCK, Ariz.)-KOB-TV, Channel 4 in Albuquerque, N.M. reports Indian Health Services officials say they’ve seen an increase in the number of new HIV cases throughout the Navajo Nation.

Since 2000, when there were 15 new cases diagnosed, the number increased to 40 in 2009 while cases were slightly reduced to 35 last year.

Infectious disease specialist Jonathan Iralu says he’s hopeful that screening, outreach efforts and expansion of clinical services will help increase awareness of risk factors and prevent the spread of HIV.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the overall rate of HIV and AIDS diagnosis for American Indians and Alaska Natives has been higher than that of whites but generally lower than blacks or Hispanics.

(LAS VEGAS)-KOLD-TV, Channel 13 in Tucson, Ariz. reports that while southeastern Arizona remains in a drought, Lake Mead is providing some promising prospects for water in the region.

Meteorologists accurately predicted a La Nina period this winter which caused Lake Mead to be sufficiently filled as March snowpack effectively struck Cedar Mountain and Pine Valley in southern Utah as runoff headed southward.

The snowpack is also expected to fill Lake Powell, which should sustain much of northern Arizona and southern Utah as well.

Presently, Lake Mead is just above the critical shortage level which, if reached, would trigger emergency measures, such as rationing, for the seven states using Colorado River water which include Arizona, California, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, Colorado and Wyoming.

(HURRICANE)-The Washington County Sheriff’s Office has announced the addition of an “Unsolved Cases” page to its Web site, authorities say.

This page contains photographs of suspects and information concerning the crime committed.

Law enforcement agencies from throughout the county are displaying photographs and information regarding their new addition while soliciting assistance from the public when applicable.

Law enforcement agencies in the county are hoping the public takes an active role in assisting them in bringing offenders to justice by looking at the depictions of these suspects on the page.

(SALT LAKE CITY)-The Salt Lake Tribune reports that a special workshop with the intent of helping cyclists and pedestrians be safer on Utah’s streets will occur Wednesday in Salt Lake City.

Transportation planner Michael Ronkin, a native of Geneva, Switzerland who moved into the U.S. in 1973 and is one of the nation’s leaders in the so-called “complete streets” movement, will discuss safer street designs for pedestrians and cyclists during a symposium at the Salt Lake City Council chambers.

Last year, Salt Lake County passed an ordinance requiring its Public Works department to adopt a “complete streets” policy while the department will host the event.

The workshop will also feature John LaPlante, the director of traffic engineering for the civil and structural engineering firm T.Y. Lin International of San Francisco as well as Cynthia Hoyle, a longtime transportation planner and national advocate for livable communities and safe streets.

The free workshop is open to the public.

(BEAVER)-The Salt Lake Tribune reports a Utah Parks and Recreation employee sustained minor injuries when an out-of-control car slid on icy Interstate 15 in southern Utah and collided with his parked state vehicle early Tuesday morning.

Utah Highway Patrol Corporal Todd Johnson said the accident occurred around 7:45 a.m. after the Parks and Recreation employee pulled over while headed northbound on I-15 roughly halfway between Cedar City and Beaver while helping another motorist who had slid off the freeway.

No serious injuries were reported but the state employee was transported to the hospital for examination and unspecified treatment, Johnson said.

Since the accident involved a state vehicle, the accident investigation was being handled by the Iron County Sheriff’s Department, Johnson reported.

A call to the sheriff’s office seeking further details was not immediately returned Tuesday.

(PROVO)-After leading Brigham Young University’s mens’ basketball team to their first Sweet 16 appearance in 30 years, the Cougars’ star guard Jimmer Fredette has been named Sporting News’ 2011 mens’ college basketball player of the year.

Fredette, the nation’s leading scorer averaged 28.5 points per game this season while amassing 40-plus points in four games and posted 52 points in the Mountain West Conference tournament semifinals against New Mexico.

Since the NCAA Tournament began last Thursday, Fredette has stepped his game up, averaging 33 points per game in wins over Wofford and Gonzaga for the Cougars, who are the third seed in the Southeast Regional and will face second-seeded Florida in New Orleans Thursday evening.

Despite a loss to the Butler Bulldogs last Saturday evening, Pittsburgh’s Jamie Dixon was named as the magazine’s head coach of the year as he led the Panthers to a 27-5 record in the highly-regarded Big East conference, including a 15-3 mark in league play.

The Panthers have been among the nation’s best teams in Dixon’s tenure as Pitt has won at least 20 games, including 10 in conference play, in each of his eight seasons at the helm.

Fredette was joined on the Sporting News All-American first team by Connecticut guard Kemba Walker, Duke guard Nolan Smith, Ohio State forward Jared Sullinger and Purdue forward/center JaJuan Johnson.

San Diego State’s Kawhi Leonard was named a forward on the publication’s second All-American team as well, giving the generally lightly-regarded Mountain West Conference more recognition than it usually receives.

(OREM)-Students in the Japanese Club at Utah Valley University are asking their fellow students to donate $1 apiece to assist in help with the recent earthquake and tsunami disasters in Japan.

As of Monday, they began making paper cranes, a Japanese symbol for hope.

Students who donate money will each write their names on a crane which will be later shipped to Japan in hopes that the spirits of their countrymen can be bolstered amid tragedy.

The university’s Japan Club president, Tenki Kawazoe, said that with 33,000 students enrolled at the Orem-based university, if everyone donates at least $1, the contribution can be significant.

(SALT LAKE CITY)-Utah retailers are upset with legislation co-sponsored by state representative Mike Lee that would put Federal Reserve caps on the fees banks charge for processing debit transactions on hold for two years.

The Debit Interchange Study Fee Act, S.575, also calls for a one-year study of debit interchange fees.

The Federal Reserve was required, under the federal financial reforms passed by Congress last year, to set transaction fees at a level that is “reasonable and proportional.”

The limits would apply only to banks with $10 billion in assets or more.

Senators backing the act say the limits are tantamount to price fixing.

The retailers, food industry and the Utah Petroleum Marketers and Retailers Association felt so strongly about this newly introduced legislation that they took out a full-page ad in Salt Lake City’s daily newspapers Monday calling on Lee to stand up for Utah’s small businesses.

The Utah Bankers Association thinks Lee is doing the right thing and says he should be applauded for backing a bill that would study the impact of caps on debit card transaction fees.

Lee’s statement suggests he understands the issue affects many Utah businesses directly but said the association’s ad is “misleading and false.”

The Federal Reserve, according to the Senate Coalition’s press release, is proposing a rule that will cap the interchange fee per debit card transaction at 12 cents, regardless of the transaction’s size.

(SALT LAKE CITY)-Monday, Utah House Republicans voted to repeal a highly controversial law they passed just 17 days ago in a closed caucus.

The move comes in light of a downpour of criticism from both the public and news organizations throughout the state.

After the meeting, which went roughly three hours, lawmakers emerged and announced it was time to repeal H.B.477, which would have made many government documents secret and aloof from access to the general public.

A KSL/Deseret News poll conducted by Dan Jones suggests this was a wise decision as 84 percent of Utahns polled feel the issue of keeping government records accessible to the public is important while only 13 percent of those polled said it was not.

Utah Governor Gary Herbert has since issued a press release stating he expects lawmakers will “repeal and replace” the bill saying it has lost a lot of public confidence in government officials in the state.

Shortly before 5:00 p.m. Monday afternoon, Herbert notified legislative leaders that he will call a special session to repeal the bill Friday.

In the interim, the state elections office began processing signature packets for a referendum campaign to repeal the bill called www.savegramma.org.

Additionally, the Senate released the list of a 25-person working group to address the bill which will be headed by Salt Lake Chamber President Lane Beattie, a former lawmaker.

(SALT LAKE CITY)-A group seeking to get an ethics initiative onto the 2012 ballot has claimed in a lawsuit that Utah Lieutenant Governor Greg Bell is violating state law with rules for petition signatures.

Utahns For Ethical Government was expected to announce the details late Monday.

The group says Bell, who oversees the state elections office, is not giving them 12 months to gather signatures, which is the allotted time in state law.

State officials are also refusing to release official counts of signatures obtained, the group says.

Along with the lawsuit, UEG board members will discuss changes to initiative petition laws made during this year’s legislative session.

The most notable change was the prohibition of electronic signatures on petitions.

(CEDAR CITY) – Iron County Commissioners have scheduled a public hearing next Monday morning to gain comment on amendments to the General Plan for the designation of wilderness areas in the county. All interested persons are invited to review the amended plan prior to the public hearing at the County Building Department in Cedar City. The public hearing will be held at the Commission Chambers in Parowan at 10:30am on Monday and the public is invited to attend and offer comment.

(RICHFIELD) – Richfield City officials will hold a public hearing Tuesday night to gain comment with respect to the issuance of bonds for the construction of a new water tank. The hearing will be held at 7pm Tuesday at the Council Chambers at the City Offices and the public is invited to attend to offer comment. Also, councilmembers will hold a regular council meeting to consider adopting a resolution for setting water connection fees for undeveloped and developed property. The council will also discuss sales tax revenue projections, the proposed budget study session and a report on the CIB meeting for the new fire station.

(CEDAR CITY)-Southern Utah University has announced it has received a gift worth $1 million from the Salt Lake City-based ALSAM foundation toward the final phase of construction for its much-anticipated new science building, set to open classes for the fall semester of 2011.

SUU president Michael T. Benson said the gift is crucial to completing the new science facility and also establishes an endowment which will provide much-needed support for student scholarships and research.

Half of the foundation’s gift is designated for building construction and the other half is slated for scholarship and research endowments, specifically for SUU’s College of Science students.

Robert Eves, the dean of the College of Science, says the college is elated for the donation and that the university plans to continue to provide the “best undergraduate science education program in the intermountain region.”

Eves also says the new building marks a “huge step forward” in the college’s perpetual mission to prepare students for graduate and professional schools as well as for careers in the sciences.

The new science building will be located just east of, and connected to, the university’s present science building while the 42,385-square foot addition fills the building footprint of the 9,491-square foot Life Science Building, which was outdated, and later torn down to make room for the new addition.

In the past two decades, SUU has nearly doubled in size to its current enrollment of more than 8,000 students while the College of Science boasts more than 20 percent of the total enrollment.

(CEDAR CITY)-The Salt Lake Tribune reports The Central Iron County Water Conservancy District, which is responsible for delivering water for Cedar City, Enoch, and other areas throughout the county, including numerous incorporated areas, has just received a Capital Facilities plan.

It is suggested costs will roughly run around $400 million and will cover the transportation of 20,000-acre feet of water to satisfy future demands.

Census records imply the bustling southern Utah county will boast 250,000 residents by 2060 and residents hope much of the demand for water can be procured via Lake Powell.

The decision on whether a pipeline between the lake on the Utah-Arizona border and Iron County is still under consideration, but those who favor the project say it is essential while detractors say this is a waste of the precious resource.

The final decision will be made by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the lead agency on the project as it is expected to generate electricity to offset the significant cost.

In addition to the 20,000-acre feet allocated for Iron County, Washington County has a claim on 70,000-acre feet of the lake’s water while Kane County has 10,000-acre feet earmarked for use.

An acre-foot of water is about what it would take to sustain a family of four for one year.

Scott Wilson, the executive director of the Iron County conservancy district, said the project is necessary as the aquifer in Cedar Valley, which has traditionally provided sufficient water to farmers and communities, is over allocated and annually 8,000 acre feet of water is annually being drawn above what is being replaced by runoff.

The Iron County report and more than 20 others provided by contractors studying the project will go before the public this week in meetings at St. George and Salt Lake City.

Wilson said the proposed plan is for the water to be pumped uphill from a storage reservoir in Washington County more than 50 miles away.

The water would then enter a treatment facility to be built in the hills near Cedar City’s southern end and from there would be distributed to cities and other shareholders in the region.

Wilson said the price would likely be covered by government funds and impact fees.

Recent analysis suggests the impact fees on new construction to pay for the project, currently at $3,000 per lot would graduate to $4,000 in 2015 while continuing to increase by $1,000 every five years to $15,000 by 2070.

Wilson says he isn’t opposed to conservation methods, but notes southwestern Utah residents have certain expectations about water usage.

He acknowledges other areas, such as Tucson, Ariz., are using conservation to preserve water although as of yet, Utah has not embraced such methods to the degree other communities have.

Douglas Hall, the founder of the Iron County Taxpayers Alliance, said the cost of Iron County’s participation in the plan is significant and should be reconsidered while encouraging residents to attend the meetings and speak on the plan.

Ron Thompson, the director of the Washington County Water Conservancy District said a Capital Facilities plan for its part of the project had been prepared several years ago while also projecting growth in impact fees, but not to Iron County’s extent.

Kane County, meanwhile, has yet to produce any such plan.

(SALT LAKE CITY)-The Salt Lake Tribune reports the University of Utah will be checking senior-year transcripts for applicants from now on, one of several policy changes designed to strengthen the qualifications for incoming freshmen.

Until this year, admissions officials merely checked with high schools every spring in an effort to ensure admitted seniors actually graduated.

They will now look at what classes were taken and what grades were earned, which is a standard practice nationally, according to U. admissions director Barbara Fortin.

If courses and grades are not up to par, a particular student’s admission could become contingent upon passing core courses his or her freshman year, or the admission offer could even be rescinded.

Barbara Snyder, the U.’s vice president for student affairs said the aim is not so much to make the state’s flagship university more selective while ensuring students still succeed.

Checking transcripts has been applauded by several Utah high school counselors, such as Bruce Hunter, the advising director for Rowland Hall/St. Mark’s School, a private Salt Lake City school that sends nearly all of its graduates to selective colleges.

Other future policy changes include moving up the drop-dead application date to July 15, six weeks before fall classes start and not making admission criteria public.

Thus, U.-bound students won’t be tempted to slack if they know marginal grades and scores are good enough, according to Snyder.

Currently, minimums are set at a 2.6 GPA and an ACT composite score of 18, Snyder said, although she also stated the bare minimum is not sufficient to get into the university in most cases.

Snyder says the U.’s admissions index is due for an overhaul as data show GPA is a far better predictor of college success while the university will accordingly give much greater weight to grades via admission formula that will be revised every year.

Fortin says currently freshmen applications are up 16 percent this spring with lots of interest from out of state applicants, especially from California, Nevada and Texas.

The university is especially interested in non-Utah collegians as in addition to paying higher tuition, they add to the diversity of campus life and the school’s national cachet, Fortin says.

(FUKUSHIMA, Japan)- Monday, gray smoke rose from two reactor units at a Japanese nuclear plant, temporarily stalling critical work to reconnect power lines and restore cooling systems to stabilize Japan’s radiation-leaking nuclear complex.

Throughout the day, workers raced to bring the nuclear plant under control although the process is preceding in fits and starts, stalled by incidents such as smoke and the pressing need to work methodically in ensuring machinery can safely be switched on.

Problems set off by the disasters of 10 days ago have ranged far beyond the devastated northeast coast of the populous country and the wrecked nuclear power plant, compounding matters for the government which has called this Japan’s worst crisis since World War II.

Rebuilding the ravaged northeast coast may cost as much as $235 billion and police believe the death toll will soon surpass 18,000.

Currently, radiation is tainting vegetables and select water supplies although authorities believe the radiation is not yet sufficient to significantly damage food as Japan’s top trade partner, China, is still willing to purchase Japanese products.

The Washington-based World Bank stated in a Monday report that Japan may need five years to rebuild from the disasters, which caused upward of $235 billion in damages.

The report stated the cost to private insurers will be up to $33 billion, while the government will spend $12 billion on reconstruction in the current national budget and much more later.

(ATLANTA)-An airport official with Atlanta-based Delta Airlines Inc. says the company will be adding another round-trip flight between Casper, Wyo. and Salt Lake City on weekends as of this summer.

Currently, the airline offers two round-trip flights between the cities each day.

Casper/Natrona County (Wyo.) International Airport Manager Glenn Januska says the extra round-trip flight is being offered Saturdays and Sundays from June 11-September 4.

Januska told the Casper Star-Tribune the flights will be on 30-passenger Embraer turboprops.

(MT. PLEASANT) – A new Miss Mt. Pleasant for 2011 was selected in a scholarship pageant over the weekend. Judges selected Carlie Brotherson as the new Miss Mt. Pleasant, with Tenisha Barnett as First Attendant and Christina Rocco as Second Attendant. Carlie was also selected as Miss Photogenic and Christina was chosen as Miss Congeniality. The three were among five young women who competed in the scholarship pageant held Saturday night at the North Sanpete High School Auditorium. The theme for this year was “A Night with the Stars.” Last year’s queen, Joya Fontain, her Second Attendant, Jessica Peel and Little Miss Mt. Pleasant Mashaylie Burnside, all performed during the pageant. The Woman of Excellence award was also presented to Rhea Stewart and Mid-Utah Radio’s J.D. Fox was Master of Ceremonies.

(ST. GEORGE)-Last Friday, a semi truck hauling potash rolled over near the interchange of Interstate 15 and St. George Boulevard at Exit 8, a major thoroughfare for traffic in the burgeoning city.

The Utah Department of Public Safety says evidence shows one of the southbound truck’s rear tires blew out around 5:10 p.m. MDT, causing the driver to lose control of the vehicle.

The truck, which had a semi cab but was hauling a hopper-type trailer, made one complete roll before coming to rest on its wheels.

The trailer then spilled potash and water during the crash, which spread across the outside lanes as well as the exit lane.

During the crash, the truck knocked over one of the large freeway light poles.

The truck’s 25-year-old driver was then taken to the hospital in fair condition.

(LOGAN)-Late last week, the Utah State University Board of Trustees voted in favor of a 4 percent tuition increase.

The Logan Herald-Journal reports USU students will probably face another 5 percent increase on top of the 4 percent increase trustees approved Friday.

The Utah Board of Regents is expected to approve a 5 percent tuition increase this spring for all of the state’s colleges and universities.

While the state sets Tier 1 tuition rates, individual institutions set Tier II rates.

The combination of the two will have USU undergraduate resident students taking 15 credit hours a semester pay an extra $195.57 per semester.

The increase at the Logan-based university comes after the state’s higher education commissioner, William A. Sederburg, asked all of Utah’s institutions of higher learning to impose “moderate” tuition increases to help balance budgets.

CEDAR CITY, Utah (AP)-Brooks Orton and Kole Halladay combined for five hits and four RBI as the Cedar Redmen waxed the Richfield Wildcats, 12-2 Saturday in non-region baseball action.

GUNNISON, Utah (AP)-Tate Squire drove in the winning RBI and the Juab Wasps downed the Morgan Trojans, 9-8 at the Gunnison Tournament Saturday.

GUNNISON, Utah (AP)-Alex Whitbeck doubled and earned the win on the mound as the Beaver Beavers edged the South Sevier Rams, 3-2 Saturday at the Gunnison Tournament. Austin Gleave doubled in the loss for South Sevier.

GUNNISON, Utah (AP)-Colton Hamilton had two RBI and the Manti Templars edged the Morgan Trojans, 4-3 at the Gunnison Tournament Saturday.

GUNNISON, Utah (AP)-Kragun Bunker had two doubles and the Enterprise Wolves stormed past the North Sanpete Hawks, 13-3 Saturday at the Gunnison Tournament.

GUNNISON, Utah (AP)-Kyler McIntosh earned the win on the mound and the South Sevier Rams ousted the North Sanpete Hawks, 3-2 at the Gunnison Tournament Saturday.

MOAB, Utah (AP)-Austin Albers tripled while Kaden Hughes and Kyle Church each doubled as the Delta Rabbits decimated the Grand Red Devils, 29-1 Saturday at the Moab Tournament.

MOAB, Utah (AP)-Hadley Myers and Jaxon Singleton each homered and the Delta Rabbits pummeled Pagosa Springs, Colo. 11-1 at the Moab Tournament Saturday.

SALINA, Utah (AP)-Colton Piep earned the win as the North Sevier Wolves shellacked the Altamont Longhorns, 25-4 Saturday at the North Sevier Tournament.

SALINA, Utah (AP)-Jordan Perkins belted two doubles and the Millard Eagles downed the North Summit Braves, 9-2 at the North Sevier Tournament Saturday.

SALINA, Utah (AP)-Nate Wade tripled and Brenden Turner added two doubles as the Millard Eagles stymied the Altamont Longhorns, 15-1 Saturday at the North Sevier Tournament.

SALINA, Utah (AP)-Kyler Coates tripled and Michael Hales earned the win on the mound for the North Sevier Wolves in a 10-0 win over the North Summit Braves at the North Sevier Tournament Saturday.

(SALT LAKE CITY) – A new report from a watchdog group claims state medical boards aren’t doing their job to protect patients. The group, Public Citizen, says there are doctors in Utah who have been disciplined by their hospitals but not by the state. The study noted that 82 doctors were disciplined by the hospital over the past 20 years but 54% of those faced no action from the state medical board. Public Citizen found that offenses ranged from sexual misconduct to fraud, malpractice and negligence. The report said many times, the infractions threatened the patient’s health or safety. Public Citizen said the worst cases were reported in Hawaii, where 77% of doctors went undisciplined but California had a greater number, with 710 doctors reportedly not facing state censure over the past 20 years.

(SALT LAKE CITY) – Utah attorneys are saying credit bureaus are ignoring the law if there’s a dispute on a credit report. Attorney Jon Rogers says when consumers send in information concerning a disputed charge, the federal government requires the credit agencies forward documents to the organization providing the information a consumer wishes to dispute. Rogers says CRA’s only forward a numeric code. He says an Automated Consumer Dispute Verification, or ACDV number, is the only code furnished and in many cases, the problem is never addressed. According to attorney Ronald Ady, some furnishers who want to fix the problem can’t, because they don’t have enough information to do it. He said that other furnishers won’t correct the matter until they’re sued. Ady also said that credit bureaus are failing to investigate disputes they’re supposed to and just go by the information the furnisher provides.

(CENTRAL VALLEY) – A Richfield woman has been cited for stealing money from a home in Central Valley where she was hired to clean. According to a Sevier County Sheriff’s report, 32-year old Heather Jeffs was hired by Mack Camp to clean his home and he noticed some money came up missing. Camp contacted the sheriff’s office and surveillance video was set up to catch the suspect. Deputies said that Jeffs was caught stealing about $200 from Camp during the surveillance period. She was not arrested for the theft but given a citation in Sevier County Justice Court. Sheriff Nate Curtis warns residents to be careful of who you hire to do work for you.

(RICHFIELD) – A Richfield man reported missing Thursday afternoon has been found safe. Sevier County Sheriff Nate Curtis said 55-year old Tim Shaw went missing around noon Thursday but called a friend, saying he was lost and needed some help. Curtis said Shaw’s last cell phone call was at 2pm. Deputies searched for the man throughout the afternoon and found him just south of Richfield in his 1993 Chevy truck. He was transported to the Sevier Valley Medical Center in Richfield for treatment. Deputies said that Shaw suffered from a medical condition that prevented him from calling law enforcement.

(WASHINGTON CITY) – The Utah Wildlife Board is mulling over the decline in the state’s mule-deer populations. On Wednesday, the board met in Washington City for a work session but did not take any action on the issue. Biologists say there could be a number of reasons for the decline, including winter conditions, predation and an estimated 3,000 mule-deer a year being killed on state highways. State wildlife program coordinator, Anis Anoude, said several hundred deer with radio collars could help the Division of Wildlife (DWR) Resources determine the declining populations. In December, the DWR voted to cut permits for the 2012 hunting season by more than 13,000 in an attempt to increase the animal’s numbers and also decided to fracture the current five hunting regions in the state into 29 units, hoping to manage the herds in smaller units in order to cater to the individual needs of the herds. State Legislative leaders say cutting permits reduces hunting opportunities in Utah.

(SALT LAKE CITY) – An LDS General Authority who was Ronald Reagan’s chief strategist and pollster has died. Church authorities say that 80-year old Richard B. Wirthlin died Wednesday of natural causes. Wirthlin served as a member of the Second Quorum of the Seventy from 1996 to 2001, following the service of his father, Joseph L. Wirthlin, a presiding bishop of the Church and his brother, Joseph B. Wirthlin, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve. Elder Wirthlin was a close advisor to former President Ronald Reagan for more than 20 years and directed Reagan’s successful presidential campaigns in 1980 and 1984. He is survived by his wife, Jeralie Mae Chandler, of 54 years, eight children, 27 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. His funeral is scheduled for Saturday at 11am at the Cottonwood 5th Ward on Highland Drive.

(EPHRAIM) – Snow College students recently received high honors in their participation in the state Collegiate DECA competition. DECA is Distributive Education Clubs of America, in which Snow College is a member and is an international marketing and management organization made up of two and four-year colleges and universities in the United States and Canada. DECA advisor at Snow, Doug Dyreng, said nine students representing Snow College, did well at the state competition in Salt Lake City. He said that all nine students qualified for the International Career Development Conference to be held in Orlando, FL. from April 13-17. Local Richfield students participating include, Dustee Hilderbrand, daughter of Dave and Susan Hilderbrand and Michael Chamberlain, son of Richard and Karen Chamberlain. Dustee took third place in Business-To-Business Marketing and Michael took third place in Business Law. Both also were in the top six in Advertising Campaign.

(MT. PLEASANT, UTAH) AFTER BRINGING HOME THE THIRD REGION TITLE IN THEIR 104 YEAR HISTORY, AND FIRST IN 27 YEARS, NORTH SANPETE HIGH SCHOOL HAS FIRED HEAD BASKETBALL COACH BULL KEISEL. PRINCIPAL JIM BOWLES ANNOUNCED THE DECISION, YESTERDAY, STATING FEARS THAT IF KEISEL WERE TO RESIGN IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF YEARS, THE SCHOOL MAY NOT HAVE A TEACHING POSITION OPEN SHOULD THEY NEEDED TO HIRE A NEW COACH. HOWEVER, SOURCES INDICATE THAT THE NORTH SANPETE SCHOOL BOARD MET TUESDAY NIGHT AND SUPPORTED BOWLES DECISION TO DISMISS KEISEL, A DECISION THAT APPEARS TO BE INFLUENCED BY PARENTS. IN CONFLICTING REPORTS, BOWLES CLAIMS KEISEL RESIGNED, WHILE KEISEL STATES HE DID NOT. ACCORDING TO KEISEL, BOWLES ASKED HIM TO LEAVE AFTER THE NORTH SANPETE PRINCIPAL REFERRED TO FEELINGS GENERATED AT THE SCHOOL BOARD MEETING THE PREVIOUS NIGHT. KEISEL TOOK THE HEAD BASKETBALL COACHING JOB IN 2005 AND HAS SINCE LED THE HAWKS TO THEIR FIRST REGION TITLE SINCE 1984 AND THREE STATE PLAY-OFF APPEARANCES. DURING HIS TENURE, KEISEL ACCEPTED NO PAY, DONATED HIS SALARY TO THE BASKETBALL PROGRAM, USED VACATION TIME WHILE ADJUSTING HIS FULL-TIME WORK SCHEDULE TO COACH, AND BROUGHT THE BASKETBALL PROGRAM FROM A $15,000 DEFICIT TO A $1,000 PROFIT. KEISEL SAYS THAT DURING YESTERDAY’S MEETING, ADMINISTRATORS COMPLIMENTED HIS PERFORMANCE OVER THE LAST FIVE YEARS, BUT IN THE END ASKED HIM TO LEAVE. WHEN ASKED BY MID-UTAH RADIO NEWS WHY AFTER 27 YEARS OF VOLUNTEER COACHING KEISEL WAS ASKED TO LEAVE, BOWLES COULDN’T GIVE A STRONG REASON FOR THE DISMISSAL. ACCORDING TO KEISEL, HE WAS FREQUENTLY BADGERED BY A NUMBER OF PARENTS WHO DISAGREED WITH HIS COACHING PHILOSOPHY AND FELT THEIR CHILD SHOULD HAVE MORE PLAYING TIME. IN ADDITION, KEISEL SAYS THAT SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS HAVE EVEN PROPOSED THAT THE HAWK COACH BE SUBJECT TO A SPECIAL COMMITTEE THAT WOULD HELP DECIDE WHICH PLAYERS WOULD GET PLAYING TIME. KEISEL BELIEVES THAT IDEA WAS SHELVED AFTER HE ASKED WHETHER OTHER COACHES AT THE SCHOOL WOULD BE SUBJECT TO THE SAME COMMITTEE. KEISEL’S FIRING IS THE LATEST IN A LONG SAGA OF WHAT SEEMS TO BE A LACK OF SUPPORT FOR ATHLETIC COACHES BY THE SCHOOL BOARD AND ADMINISTRATION, INFLUENCED BY PARENT INVOLEMENT. SINCE 1973, THE AVERAGE TENURE OF THE BOYS BASKETBALL COACH HAS BEEN FOUR AND A HALF YEARS. DURING THOSE 38 YEARS THE NORTH SANPETE COMMUNITY HAS MOVED FOR THE DISMISSAL OF SIX OF THEIR LAST NINE COACHES. IN CONTRAST, MANTI AND GUNNISON HIGH SCHOOLS HAVE EACH EMPLOYED ONLY FOUR COACHES OVER THE SAME TIME PERIOD.

(RICHFIELD) – The U.S. Forest Service is holding a series of public meetings to explain both the details and intent of the recently proposed draft Planning Rule. Forest Specialist John Zapell says Forest personnel will link with individuals on March 29 in a video conference. He said the Planning Rule will serve as a blueprint for how hundreds of individual plans will chart national forest management in the coming years. The first meeting will be held March 29 from 2-5pm and the second meeting will be held from 6:30-9pm at the Fishlake National Forest office in Richfield. A scoping period will be held until May 16, 2011 for the public to submit comments on the Planning Rule.

(RICHFIELD) – Sevier County is closer to implementing a new Children’s Justice Center to help kids involved in child abuse cases. At a commission meeting today, Commissioners approved a national grant to help fund the center. County Attorney Dale Eyre said the approval paves the way for victims of child abuse to get the justice they deserve. He said his office sought $100,000 from the state to run the CJC but was only granted $50,000 during the last legislative session. Eyre said in the interim, he contacted the Department of Justice and secured a $30,000 grant and another $10,000 from the Utah Attorney General’s Office. By cutting $8900 in spending, Eyre said the county will be able to run the center this year but there was no promise for funding next year.

(OKLAHOMA CITY)-Tuesday, top land managers in the Obama Administration told reporters they have worked to develop the nation’s oil and gas resources and cannot be blamed for gasoline’s rising prices.

The administration has approved lands for drilling across the West, including in Utah, while the supply of lands far exceeds actual production by the industry according to statements from Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar in an Oklahoma City-based teleconference.

Salazar said the government has sold oil and gas leases on 41 million acres of public lands, although only 12 million acres are in production.

Bureau of Land Management Director Bob Abbey added that lands his agency oversees contributed $112 billion to the national economy while of that, $103 billion has come from minerals.

Abbey said his administration plans another 33 lease sales this year while a comparable number should emerge next year.

Tuesday, Utah U.S. Representative Rob Bishop issued a statement rejecting Salazar and Abbey’s assertions that the administration is working to reduce dependence upon foreign fuels.

Salazar said the wildlands policy, a reversal of a Bush administration deal with former Utah Governor Mike Leavitt to stop looking for wilderness study areas, restores a continuing lands inventory duty federal law requires of the BLM.

He added that if the policy leads to more protections, it is appropriate under the agency’s management rules.

Utah Governor Gary Herbert’s office did not respond to requests for comment Tuesday afternoon while Utah Petroleum Association President Lee Peacock said that if there’s a backlog of leased land yet to be developed, it is because federal rules require extensive environmental review after the lease sale and not because industry is slow to act.

Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance attorney Steve Bloch said there are nearly 5 million acres currently under lease in Utah, but just over 1 million acres in production while more lands are presently available.

(SALT LAKE CITY)-The Salt Lake Tribune reports Tuesday The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints took a public stance on illegal immigration by sending Presiding Bishop H. David Burton to attend and speak at Utah Governor Gary Herbert’s signing ceremony for four bills passed by the Utah Legislature.

Burton, who oversees the Church’s financial affairs, joined key legislators, business leaders, activists and religious figures in the state, such as homeless advocate Pamela Atkinson and Utah Episcopal Bishop Scott Hayashi, at the signing in the state Capitol’s Gold Room.

Many Church members who are in favor of similar legislation to Arizona’s SB1070 have said they are receiving conflicting messages from the Church, whose 12th Article of Faith teaches its members to be subject to the law in whatsoever land they reside.

Nevertheless, those same members have also said they remain faithful to the religion and are not willing to let personal differences destroy their testimony in doctrine they believe to be true.

This debate is crucial to Utah’s Latino population, many of whom are LDS while Latino activist Tony Yapias believes many of the state’s Latino Mormons are undocumented including local leaders such as bishops, branch presidents and stake presidents in certain instances.

The immigration debate undoubtedly will prove to be a hot button topic in Utah politics despite the fact the 2011 Utah Legislature drew to a close at the end of last week.

(WASHINGTON)-After threats of a meltdown and several blasts at a nuclear power plant in northern Japan, the ground review of the safety design standards in place at the 104 nuclear reactors in the United States are going to review their safety standards.

Tony Pietrangelo, the senior vice president and chief nuclear officer of the Washington-based Nuclear Energy Institute said his office doesn’t stop taking precautions according to standards the company is licensed to but suspects in light of the Japanese disasters, all plant operators are significantly reviewing all standards.

Pietrangelo says the review will be ongoing during remarks he made during a Tuesday morning teleconference his institute hosted in Washington.

In closing, Pietrangelo said, despite the criticism, he doesn’t believe the incidents in Japan to have any impact on license renewals of existing nuclear power plants in the country or to slow new construction.

(SALT LAKE CITY)-U.S. District Judge Dee Benson gave parties in the convoluted legal battle over a polygamous sect’s United Effort Trust Plan 20 days to reach an agreement which essentially involves a workable exit strategy for the state.

The mandate, issued by Benson Tuesday, comes on the heels of his late February ruling that the state’s management of the Hilldale, Utah-based sect’s assets violates the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause.

Benson warned assistant attorneys from Arizona and Utah that continued state-management of the assets belonging to the sect are “constitutional violations of a serious magnitude,” warranting cessation as soon as possible.

Utah state courts seized control of the trust, valued at more than $110 million, in 2005 amid allegations of mismanagement by sect leaders, including primary leader Warren Jeffs, who is currently being jailed in Texas awaiting trial on criminal charges of bigamy, aggravated sexual assault and assault.

Benson said such allegations did not legally justify the state’s intrusion into the sect, which represents a “constitutional violation” of the first order.

Also on Tuesday, Benson resisted urges from Arizona and Utah prosecutors to allow his ruling to preserve the “status quo” while appeals are filed or the Utah Supreme Court revisits the issue in light of pending cases under its purview.

Benson also said the next 20 days, before the next hearing slated for April 5, should be approached by all involved parties in “good faith” to eek out provisions governing what should happen to get the state out of the sect’s business.

In closing, Benson stressed the importance of the attorneys involved resolving the issues at hand.

(TOKYO)-Authorities of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints announced the Church will move missionaries from areas of Japan struck by the recent tsunami due to concerns about radiation from endangered nuclear power plants.

In a press conference, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Church’s Quorum of Twelve Apostles said the missionaries will be moved three times the distance recommended by the Japanese government in order to ensure their safety from radiation.

After a nuclear power plant damaged by fire and explosions emitted a burst of radiation Tuesday, the Japanese government ordered 144,000 people living within 20 miles of the plant to conceal themselves indoors to avoid exposure.

As many as 200 missionaries are being moved from the Japan Sendai and Tokyo missions and will be relocated either to the north or south on the island nation which is roughly the size of Utah.

In the wake of these recent disasters, Elder Holland also stated the Church is ascertaining it does all it can to meet the needs of all people in Japan.

Elder Holland said Church leaders have already made a substantial financial donation to the government of Japan to aid in relief efforts.

CEDAR CITY, Utah (AP)-Jaxon Singleton homered and Kyle Church went the distance on the mound as the Delta Rabbits blanked the Cedar Redmen, 1-0 Tuesday in non-region baseball action.

MOAB, Utah (AP)-Tyler Garcia and Tyler Hugentobler each scored as the Grand Red Devils doubled up the Gunnison Bulldogs, 2-1 in 2A South soccer action Tuesday. Diego Gonzalez had the sole goal in defeat for Gunnison.

PAROWAN, Utah (AP)-William Elias had two goals for the Parowan Rams in a 3-2 win over the Millard Eagles Tuesday in 2A South soccer action. Brian Arros and Pancho Alcala each scored in defeat for the Eagles.

BEAVER, Utah (AP)-John Howard and Matt Christensen each scored for the Beaver Beavers in a 2-1 win over South Sevier in 2A South soccer action Tuesday. Nick Deryke scored in the loss for the Rams.

DELTA, Utah (AP)-Josie Platt doubled and the Canyon View Lady Falcons capitalized on several Delta errors in a 6-0 win over the Lady Rabbits in non-region softball action Tuesday. Katherine Anderson doubled in the loss for Delta.

GRANTSVILLE, Utah (AP)-Amy Matthews and Mariah Shepherd each doubled and the Grantsville Cowgirls humbled the North Sanpete Lady Hawks, 6-1 Tuesday in non-region softball action. Shantel Ison had a double in defeat for North Sanpete.

(COALVILLE) – Some high-profile politicians are seeking the favors of TEA-party activists groups in Utah. News reports say that Sen. Orrin Hatch, Mitt Romney and Jon Huntsman Jr., have all contacted Jacqueline Smith, a home-schooling LDS mother of five, living in a modest ranch-style house in Coalville, with her husband, Cleve, a plumbing contractor. Smith formed the group, The STAR Forum, which stands for, Save-The-American-Republic, which pushes a strictly conservative agenda, including reigning in government spending, repealing Obamacare and annihilating cap-and-trade. Smith said that all the potential presidential candidates with ties to Utah have appeased the liberals in Congress too long and too often. David Kirkham, a businessman who helped found one of Utah’s first TEA-party groups, echoes Smith’s sentiments, saying that Romney’s healthcare legislation, when he was governor of Massachusetts, is nearly like Obamacare. Darcy Van Orden, a co-founder of Utah Rising, a clearinghouse group, refers to Huntsman as a socialist on a good day and a communist on a bad day. The TEA-party groups held 25-30 meetings over the past year to discuss the issues.

(WENDOVER, NV.) – Hundreds gathered at a local auditorium in West Wendover today to attend the funeral of a teenage girl allegedly murdered by a former boyfriend. The girl, 16-year old Micaela Constanzo, was found buried in a shallow grave last week. Constanzo’s sister, Kim, said everyone who knew her, liked her. The auditorium was the only local venue large enough to accommodate the standing-room only crowd, where family, friends, classmates, teachers and even strangers flocked to pay their last respects of the fallen teen. West Wendover police said an 18-year old man, whom Constanzo dated, has been accused of killing her. A private graveside service was held this afternoon.

(RICHFIELD) – The collection budget for the Richfield City Library continues to plummet. Library Director Linda Fields says collections are back to 1994 levels and if it continues to slide, the library may have to close. She said the collection budget is at $9,000 but members of the library board were able to secure a $5,000 state grant for this year, which would directly benefit the collections budget but money may not be available for 2012. The library has seen a 12% increase in circulation in a six-year period, with a big boost of 37% in LDS fiction, 35% increase in junior fiction and a 23% hike in video. Fields said that studies show that a city the size of Richfield should have 8,000 square feet of library space to meet its needs. The Richfield library is 4250 square feet. In 2005, a bond for a new library was attempted but failed.

(SALT LAKE CITY)-The Salt Lake Tribune reports higher gas prices are steering Utahns to take public transit rather than driving when possible.

The Utah Transit Authority reports as soon as gasoline prices started spiking, they saw an 8 percent jump in ridership in the past two months compared to this same period in 2010.

Furthermore, a new study, released Monday by the Washington-based American Public Transportation Association predicts this trend could add 15 percent more public transit riders nationally if gasoline prices hit $5 a gallon this year while they could see a 27 percent increase if gas rises to $6 a gallon.

Traditionally in Utah, UTA spokesman Gerry Carpenter said his company sees an influx of riders every time gas prices spike, but tempered his statements by saying a three-month lag time usually occurs when fuel starts rising and the peak of when large numbers of people switch to public transit.

For instance, gasoline prices hit their all-time high in Utah, $4.18 a gallon for unleaded regular, on July 18, 2008, while three months later, in September, UTA reached its all-time high for record ridership when 160,000 riders per week took the transit system.

Utah has been seeing such spikes recently, as Utah AAA reported the average price of unleaded gasoline in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area was $3.38 a gallon, up from $3.31 a week ago, $3.05 a month ago and $2.83 from a year ago.

Carpenter said that when gasoline prices decrease, UTA ridership also drops, but still with a couple months of lag time.

Overall, Carpenter says UTA ridership usually remains higher, however, with some people apparently making the switch permanently to public transit.

Carpenter says it is difficult to say how much recent ridership increases are a consequence of gasoline price hikes, but said they do play a role.

APTA released other projections Monday, saying that based on increases it is seeing nationwide as gasoline prices rise, it figures that if gasoline hits $4 a gallon nationally, public transit ridership would increase by 7 percent, or an additional 670 million passenger trips per year to a total of 10.8 billion.

If gasoline hits $5 per gallon, it projects national ridership to increase by 27 percent, or by 2.7 billion passenger trips to a total of 12.9 billion per year.

(SALT LAKE CITY)-Opponents of the “Utah Solution” on immigration are pushing back against the proposal.

While the legislation is comprehensive, detractors have utilized methods in hopes of bringing it down, including a Web site, a boycott and potential legal challenges, among other tactics.

Meanwhile, Utah Governor Gary Herbert is to sign the immigration bills into law Tuesday according to his spokeswoman, Ally Isom.

A faction of GOP delegates have launched a robo-call, a Web site and a petition called Veto H.B.116, in hopes of counteracting a bill that would establish a guest-worker program in the state with a federal waiver, something the group calls “irresponsible” and “amnesty.”

Utah County GOP delegate Brandon Beckham, an organizer of the petition, estimates 500 to 600 delegates have signed onto his effort and said the number is growing.

Herbert met with a group of delegates last week to hear their concerns while Beckham said delegates are exhorting Herbert to hear their pleas.

Meanwhile, several other groups, including the ACLU, are examining Utah’s legislation, mulling a potential court challenge on constitutional grounds.

(SALT LAKE CITY)-Utah’s restrictive new open records law has brought the state national recognition for reducing public access to government.

The national Society of Professional Journalists plans to present Utah Governor Gary Herbert with the first-ever Black Hole award Wednesday to highlight the law, which increases fees for records requests and makes text messages private.

David Cullier, SPJ’s Freedom of Information Committee chief and journalism professor at the University of Arizona told the Associated Press he’ll try to present the award to Herbert Wednesday.

The award, Cullier said, is part of Sunshine Week, an annual initiative begun in 2002, to promote greater transparency in government.

Nominations were gathered from throughout the country, but Cullier said there was “no question” the award should go to Herbert in his role as chief executive of the state.

Mark Caramanica, the director of Freedom of Information for Arlington, Va.-based Reporters Committee For Freedom of the Press, said the group took notice as the new law is so “egregious and out of balance.”

No other state makes text messages from a government cell phone private, which Utah’s law does, Caramanica said.

Furthermore, Carmanica said, the fee provisions, which allow agencies to charge for things such as “overhead,” potentially creates an insurmountable financial barrier to open government.

(LAS VEGAS)-The Nevada Highway Patrol reports a 28-year-old Utah woman died in a weekend rollover crash on Interstate 15 several miles north of the Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Monday, the Clark County (Nev.) coroner identified the woman as Vidriana Sofia Larson of West Jordan.

NHP trooper Joseph Fackrell said a man was hurt after being thrown from his vehicle, although a baby and an 8-year-old escaped serious injury when the Dodge sport utility vehicle in question, headed northbound, rolled shortly after 1:00 a.m. PST Sunday.

The man was hospitalized in serious condition at Las Vegas’ University Medical Center while Fackrell said the woman was pronounced dead at the scene.

Fackrell says it wasn’t immediately clear what caused the crash.

(PAROWAN) – The police chief of Parowan has been charged with two misdemeanors in connection with the killing of a dog last July. According to Mayor Donald Landes, Chief Preston Griffiths shot a loose dog he termed to be “vicious.” Griffiths was charged last week in Iron County’s 5th District Court with official misconduct, a class “B” misdemeanor and obstruction of justice, a class “A” misdemeanor. Millard County prosecutors are handling the case to avoid a conflict of interest. Their investigation was apparently prompted by a complaint from the dog’s owner but the mayor said the matter has gone too far. Mayor Landes said the city reviewed the matter and disciplined Griffiths but didn’t say what action was taken. Chief Griffiths is still the active police chief and has not been placed on leave.

(ANNABELLA) – A Sevier County resident has approached the Annabella Town Council to build 50 greenhouses to operate a hydroponic farm outside the town limits. Russell Peterson, who lives on Sevier River Road, wants to connect to the town’s water system but Mayor Dale Albrecht said Peterson will have to annex his land into the town to operate his business. Albrecht said the town ordinance requires annexation if county residents want to connect into the town’s water system. He said Peterson still has to fund his project and until he does so, the project is dead. Albrecht also said the town has hired Nolte Engineering to bring the pressurized irrigation on-line with a new GPS system to track water lines and help with water for fire use when no employee is able to work the system.

(RICHFIELD) – Teachers at Red Hills Middle School in Richfield have an immediate goal of preparing 8th grade students for high school. Principal Brent Gubler said he wants to see more students improve their test scores, using the iObservation techniques. Gubler said 96% of the teachers at RHMS have degrees in their teaching assignments and 72% have graduate degrees or are obtaining one. He said the average daily attendance of the 472 students enrolled is at 94% and 23 teachers have been hired. Gubler commented that students who meet college readiness standards have a 50-75% chance of earning a “B” or better in corresponding college courses.

(PHOENIX)-KPHO-TV, Channel 5 in Phoenix reports a federal judge set an April 1 hearing for arguments over the Arizona Legislature’s request to become a party in the U.S. Justice Department’s challenge to the state’s immigration enforcement law.

The Legislature argues lawmakers should be allowed to help defend SB1070, citing a new law allowing legislative leaders participate in efforts to defend the enforcement law against challenges.

The Justice Department opposes the request on the argument the Legislature would prolong the case and that state lawyers are representing Arizona’s best interests.

Lawyers for the Legislature say lawmakers will not delay the case and that it wasn’t the federal government’s place to dictate how Arizona will defend the law.

(SALT LAKE CITY) – Utah lawmakers have inflicted severe cuts on state parks that left department heads baffled. At the close of the 2011 legislative session, Executive Director of the Utah Department of Natural Resources, Mike Styler, said the state Parks and Recreation Division was stripped 59% of its ongoing funds to the 2011-12 fiscal year. Styler said in addition to the parks division, wildland fire suppression and deer herd control budgets also faced double-digit cuts, even though improvements in efficiency had been prudent. Styler’s agencies fall within the purview of the Legislature’s Natural Resources, Environment and Agriculture appropriations subcommittee, as does the Department of Agriculture and Department of Environmental Quality. He said those three agencies bore the brunt of the cuts, taking an 18% reduction in funding in the coming year. Utah has struggled with the operation of state parks because of high subsidies at a time when revenues are flailing. Many states have shut down parks due to lack of funding.

(ALTON)-The Coal Hollow Mine of Alton, which is slated to strip away the top layers of ground while extracting up to 2 million tons of coal per year for three years has been in the works for several years, but still manages to draw criticism from environmentalists and residents alike.

After receiving a permit from the state of Utah more than a year ago, Cedar City-based Alton Coal Development LLC began the mining on 635 acres of private land.

The company is hoping to mine an even larger section, about 3,500 acres, on adjoining Bureau of Land Management property.

This plan is still in the permitting process.

The mine is located about 10 miles away from Bryce Canyon National Park, just over the Garfield County border, in Kane County, while they are the only company in Utah removing coal from the surface via a process known as strip mining.

Last week, the coal operation received two notices of violation from inspectors with the Utah Coal Regulatory Program.

One of the notices issued Thursday requires the company to remove snow and sediment along the southeastern portion of Robinson Creek, while also calling for the company to cease dumping untreated runoff into the natural channel of the creek and providing adequate temporary sediment control.

The second notice, also issued Thursday, requires the company to remove topsoil temporarily stockpiled between the creek and a diversion of the creek while building adequate precision measures, such as a berm, straw bales or a slit fence at the base of each stockpile that should also be seeded.

Neither notice has called for mining operations to cease.

Jim Springer, a spokesman for the Utah Division of Oil, Gas and Mining, said the division’s regulatory program conducts monthly inspections of mines to ensure compliance with state rules.

Springer says new start-up mines, such as Coal Hollow, are inspected up to three times a month.

Officials with Alton Coal Development did not respond to requests from the Salt Lake Tribune to comment.

Since its 2004 proposal, the mine has faced considerable opposition from environmental groups and residents in Hatch and Panguitch.

Furthermore, in March 2010, the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance and some other environmental factions filed a complaint, stating the Division of Oil, Gas and Mining Board had some members who should rescue themselves from the permit process as they have a financial interest in the mine-reclamation plan.

Other critiques have come from merchants along Panguitch’s Main Street who say trucks have intermittently been hauling loads past their businesses on U.S. 89 en route to Alton from the Intermountain Power Plant in Delta, where the coal is being sent.

Once a statement is released, the public will have a chance to comment on the document, which will feature alternatives ranging from not issuing the lease to different production and mitigation rules, said Keith Rigtrup, the BLM’s environmental impact statement project manager.

Once the lease is approved, it will go to public auction and be rewarded to the highest bidder, which means an entirely different company could be awarded the lease.

Such a measure is not unprecedented as a previous lease for the property was approved in the 1980s, but when the company never developed the land, the lease was cancelled in the 1990s.

(SALINA) – Salina Police now have a mandatory requirement to wear body armor while on patrol. At the city council meeting last week, councilmembers passed a resolution to require every member of the police department to wear bullet-proof vests while on duty. City Clerk Sherrie Westbrook said the city recently received a federal grant to pay for half the costs of the vests, with the city paying for the other half but officers must be required to wear the vests. In the past, officers had the option of wearing vests. Westbrook said the cost of each vest is between $700 and $800. Salina Police feel the body armor will help protect them better in the field.

(NEPHI)-Three people were ejected from a vehicle that rolled several times on Interstate 15 in Nephi Saturday morning.

According to Utah Highway Patrol troopers, the vehicle, a Toyota Yaris, was traveling south along I-15 near Exit 222 around 8:00 a.m.

Authorities say the driver drifted off the road to the left and then overcorrected, causing the vehicle to roll off the road on the right hand side.

The vehicle then rolled down an enbankment, ending up on the freeway off ramp.

All three occupants were ejected while the 19-year-old female driver and a 16-year-old passenger were transported to the hospital via Airmed in critical condition.

The other occupant, a 19-year-old female, was transported by ambulance to the hospital in critical condition.

Troopers are still investigating the accident, while presently they believe impairment was an apparent factor.

(SALT LAKE CITY)-While scientists are calling the quest for renewable energy a “Renaissance of Renewables,” this search is also creating interest in certain types of hydroelectric projects that have not been constructed in this country for 30 years.

Since then, technology has advanced and the urge to develop pumped-storage hydroelectric projects has been seen as a way to bridge the “intermittent” nature of energy sources, such as the sun and wind.

The development of 15 more pumped storage hydroelectric projects has been actively pursued via private and public organizations alike, with five such proposals under recent consideration in Utah.

Two of them, in Grand County, are on hold, but three others scattered throughout the state are winding their way through the federal permit process.

Pumped storage hydroelectric projects require the construction of two reservoirs, an upper reservoir and a lower reservoir, which will facilitate the daily exchange of stored water.

At night, when the energy demand is relatively lower and power rates drop, water from the lower reservoir is pumped upward while when energy demands peak during the day, water is released at a sufficient flow rate to generate electrical power, conveyed through transmission lines.

The two hydroelectric projects primarily affecting listeners to Mid-Utah Radio stations, Parker Knoll in Piute County and Hurricane Cliffs in Washington County, are both operative for 10 hours out of the day and generate a combined 1,630 megawatts, which is sufficient to power well over 300,000 homes, especially with Parker Knoll’s output.

(HANKSVILLE)-Saturday, searchers recovered the body of a 70-year-old Colorado man who fell 100 feet while rappelling in Wayne County.

According to the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office, the Colorado Springs, Colo. man, Louis Cicotello, had been hiking with another man in No Man’s Canyon near Hanksville Friday.

Family members became concerned when they received no word from the hikers, while search and rescue crews were summoned around 4:30 p.m.

A Utah Highway Patrol helicopter assisted in the search, which was called off late Friday night and resumed Saturday morning.

Wayne County Sheriff’s Office Representative Tal Ehlers says the other hiker, Cicotello’s 57-year-old brother, David Cicotello of Tennessee, was flown to a hospital in Moab where he was treated for dehydration.

(TOKYO)-Utah environmentalists and nuclear power experts are closely monitoring the Japanese nuclear power plant situation after an explosion early Sunday.

Dr. Tatjana Jevremovic, chair of the University of Utah’s Nuclear Engineering program, has directly communicated with scientists working in Japan and says a team can leave the university and assist the Far Eastern nation within 24 hours if need be.

Currently, experts say this disaster ranks as the third largest in history after the Chernobyl accident of 1986 in Ukraine and 3 Mile Island in the U.S. in 1979.

Blue Castle Holdings Inc. of Provo is proposing to build a power plant in Green River and is carefully evaluating the recent situation in Japan in hopes of determining the influx of nuclear power in Utah is worth the adjoining risk.

Current Homeland Security expert Tom Panuzio says Utah should watch this carefully as since it is in an earthquake-prone zone, anytime a nuclear reactor is going to be built, an exit strategy is required.

NEPHI, Utah (AP)-Johnny Dykster tripled but it wasn’t enough as the Granger Lancers downed the Juab Wasps, 12-7 Saturday in non-region baseball action.

KANAB, Utah (AP)-Colton Robbins and Michael Hales each tripled and Kody Snow added a double as the North Sevier Wolves hammered the Rowland Hall-St. Mark’s Winged Lions, 14-0 Saturday at the Chuck Wagon classic.

KANAB, Utah (AP)-Austin Piep, Kade Larsen and Michael Hales each doubled and the North Sevier Wolves stonewalled the Parowan Rams, 13-3 at the Chuck Wagon Classic Saturday.

KANAB, Utah (AP)-Bo Fotheringham tripled while Lyndon Bradshaw and Sloan Parkinson each added a double to lead the Beaver Beavers to an 11-4 win over the Gunnison Bulldogs Saturday at the Chuck Wagon Classic. Ryan Anderson had a double in the loss for Gunnison.

KANAB, Utah (AP)-Bo Fotheringham and Seth Myers both doubled and the Beaver Beavers blanked the Kanab Cowboys, 7-0 at the Chuck Wagon Classic Saturday.

KANAB, Utah (AP)-Rylan Anderson tripled and Braden Harris added a double as the Gunnison Bulldogs decimated the Altamont Longhorns, 19-2 Saturday at the Chuck Wagon Classic.

MOAB, Utah (AP)-Mason Winn amassed three doubles and Austin Ashby, Braden Hampton and Kyler Torgerson each added another double to lead the Richfield Wildcats to a 22-2 rout of the Grand Red Devils Saturday.

MOAB, Utah (AP)-Robert Torgerson belted a pair of home runs and Kyler Torgerson also homered as the Richfield Wildcats stymie the Millard Eagles, 13-3 at the Moab Invitational Saturday.

MOAB, Utah (AP)-Toby Gasper hit the game-winning double and Rangely (Colo.) held off Millard, 9-8 at the Moab Invitational Saturday. Gordon Finlay tripled in defeat for the Eagles.

(FERRON) – A former Emery County Sheriff’s captain facing sex abuse charges has committed suicide. Emery County Deputy Attorney Brent Langston said that 74-year old David Owens was found dead at his home in Ferron, within a month of being charged with sexual abuse. Langston said that Owens was charged with four counts of aggravated sexual abuse of a child, a first-degree felony and was scheduled for a status conference on those charges. The charges, which were filed on Feb. 9, were dismissed in light of the man’s death, which came as the result of “an apparent, self-inflicted gunshot wound.” Owens retired from the sheriff’s office in 2000. It’s alleged that the abuse took place between 1997 and 2007. Langston said the victim recently came forward with the information. In addition to the felony charges, Owens had been struggling with health issues and was basically, bed-ridden.

(SALT LAKE CITY) – Rep. Kay McIff of Richfield says the 2011 legislative session was difficult but many achievements were made. He said the biggest hurdle was working towards balancing the state budget and legislation still hasn’t been fully completed. McIff also said the highly controversial open records bill has been taken out of context. McIff commented that all his e-mails concerning legislative action is available at any given time. He said his House-sponsored food tax bill still needs to be worked over to coincide with the Senate bill.

(ST. GEORGE)-Dixie State College of Utah will be hosting the 2010 Utah Watercolor Society traveling exhibition through Thursday April 7 at the college’s Val A. Browning Library.

The exhibition has been made possible by the Utah Arts Council, while the works on display illustrate the various ways that watercolors may be employed in painting.

Pieces selected for the exhibition consist of a vast array of subjects and representations and recapture the structural elements of many of Utah’s unique landscapes.

The Watercolor Society of Utah was founded in 1974 to “elevate watercolor,” and educate the public of watercolor’s importance as a “creative, permanent art medium.”

Additionally, the society sponsors a competition juried by nationally-recognized watercolorists.

The exhibition will be on display during normal business hours at the library, which are 7:30 a.m.-11:45 p.m., Mondays-Thursdays, 7:30 a.m.-5:45 p.m., Fridays, 12:00-6:45 p.m., Saturdays and 3:00-9:45 p.m., Sundays.

For more information, please contact Ellen Bonadurer at bonadure@dixie.edu or 652-7713.

(WASHINGTON)-As the ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, Utah Representative Orrin Hatch is pushing for progress on stalled free-trade agreements with Colombia and Panama.

Hatch said he is even willing to hold up a free-trade agreement with South Korea unless and until the Colombian and Panamanian pacts begin to show more progress, according to the Hill.

(WASHINGTON)-According to a report published in USA Today this week, with schools across the nation gearing up for state testing, certain instructors have helped students cheat in hopes of obtaining top scores.

Throughout the week, the national paper has come out with a series of articles depicting teachers who have gone too far in “assisting” their students.

One Ohio teacher helped students cheat by copying test questions on a study sheet while in six other states, USA Today found scores had jumped or dropped “too significantly” for the same class from one year to another for this to be considered an anomaly.

The paper surmised that perhaps this is because of increasing pressure coming from the No Child Left Behind Act, according to statements to Congress by Secretary of Education Arne Duncan to Congress this week, as reported in the New York Times.

Skeptics say Duncan, who said some 80 percent of schools could be failing in regard to No Child Left Behind standards, may be overstating his belief as he and President Barack Obama proceed to rewrite the law.

Obama has already laid out a blueprint for reworking the law, which entails tracking students’ progress, instead of simply taking into account other components, such as graduation rates.

(SALT LAKE CITY)-The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints reported five of its six missions in Japan have reported all missionaries in those missions are accounted for and safe after the earthquake and tsunami which struck the Far East Friday.

Church spokesman Scott Trotter said all communication systems in the Japan Sendai Mission are down, so authorities have not been able to contact each missionary in that mission yet.

Trotter said the Church will continue to work diligently to account for missionaries in the area and will update the information as soon as occasion allows.

(SALT LAKE CITY)-A group of Utah citizens has filed an application seeking to have a controversial bill, H.B.477, that restricts access to many government records, go to a referendum.

This group, which is not affiliated with any formal organization, submitted the paperwork for the lieutenant governor’s office Thursday, according to protesters.

A referendum application can be filed no later than five days after the end of a legislative session.

Protesters gathered on the Capitol building’s steps Thursday evening in hopes of procuring the 65,000 signatures needed to complete the referendum.

They proceeded to collect names and information of other protesters who they hope will lead a grassroots effort to obtain the signatures by April 19.

(PHNOM PENH, Cambodia)-Select members of a University of Utah international economics class are trying to use a process they’ve studies, microcredit, to help impoverished farmers in the southeastern Asia nation of Cambodia.

Students in economic professor Wade Roberts’ class have seen pictures of these languishing Cambodians and are planning a trip to assist them in June.

The students first designed manuals for five countries, then later chose a country where they believe they can make a difference.

The students hope to raise $10,000 to buy cows and they said they chose Cambodia as the currency will buy more there.

One dollar, they say, is worth 7,000 times more than it is in the U.S.

Each cow costs $250USD in the Cambodian riel, which includes food, shots and shelter.

Cambodian farmers will then milk the cows, use them for work and later use the dung as fertilizer while the income generated from the cows will be used to pay off the loans and increase their own standard of living, Asian studies major Jake Frischknecht said.

Roberts says this is a bold endeavor that will pay off for Cambodians and ultimately teach his students a life lesson.

(MAUI) – People in Hawaii are bracing for a possible tsunami after a 9.0-magnitude earthquake hit Japan early this morning. The family of Doug Archibald from Salt Lake City is staying at a hotel overlooking Waikiki Beach in downtown Honolulu and said that officials told them not to leave their hotel. Archibald said he quickly ran to a convenience store to buy some food in case they were stuck in their hotel for a few days and kept an eye on what’s happening along the coastline. Rob Andrews from Highland, is staying at a hotel on Kaanapali Beach on the island of Maui with his wife, three children and his brother-in-law and said tsunami warning sirens have been going off every 30 minutes since last night. Additional information will be made available as we receive it.

(CENTRAL VALLEY) – Local drivers escaped serious injury in a vehicle crash on SR-118 Wednesday afternoon. According to a UHP report, 31-year old Ray Thurman of Annabella was attempting to cross the highway, when 16-year old Daniel Chapman of Monroe, traveling northbound, slammed into his car. UHP said both drivers were wearing their seatbelts and neither was injured in the accident at about 4:15pm Wednesday.

(SALT LAKE CITY)-The Salt Lake Tribune reports proposed federal budget cuts could lead to empty stringers for Utah anglers.

U.S. President Barack Obama’s proposed 2012 budget would eliminate the state’s lone federal fish hatchery at Jones Hole and limit operations at three Utah hatcheries.

Jim Karpowitz, director of the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, said he recently received a letter from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, informing him that the proposed budget would eliminate $600,000 for the Jones Hole National Fish Hatchery in Uintah County, effectively forcing it to close.

This federal hatchery, on a tributary to the Green River, provides 450,000 8-10-inch rainbow trout and 300,000 fingerling kokanee salmon annually for the nearby Flaming Gorge Reservoir.

As of 2008, Jones Hole was producing an average of 1 million fish weighing 200,000 pounds while other Utah waters receiving fish include Steinaker, Red Fleet, Matt Warner, Calder and Big Sand Wash Reservoirs.

Reed Murray, the director for the Central Utah Project Completion Act, said his office, charged by the U.S. Department of the Interior with delivering water from the Colorado River to central Utah and mitigating environmental aspects along the way, would still be able to provide operating and maintenance funds to the Big Springs Tribal Fish Hatchery on the Uinta and Ouray Indian Reservation as well as the DWR’s Fisheries Experiment station in Logan.

Murray said his office requested $692,000 for the hatcheries in the 2011 budget, which has still not yet been finalized.

Meanwhile, approximately $350,000 has been earmarked for the 2012 budget.

While the proposed budget cuts may not materialize, Karpowitz is already searching for other sources of fish and money.

According to the DWR’s Web site, www.wildlife.utah, 30 percent of the state’s wildlife agency’s revenue stems from federal sources.

(SALT LAKE CITY)-Wednesday, several Utah lawmakers helped raise a corrected Utah flag outside the state Capitol Wednesday as a nod to a new commemoration day.

From now on, March 9 will be known as Utah State Flag Day, according to H.B.490, which the Utah Legislature approved, and will now go to Governor Gary Herbert for his signature.

Earlier in the session, lawmakers approved a resolution fixing a longstanding error on the state flag.

The official flag, adopted in 1911, has the year 1847, the year pioneers first entered the Salt Lake Valley, on the shield.

A hand-stitched state flag commissioned in 1922 inadvertently placed the year under the shield and this error was perpetuated through the years.

Historian Ron Fox brought this error to the state’s attention after discovering a 1903 flag in a mislabeled box at the Utah State Historical Society.

The Utah Legislature declared this flag as the official version in 1911.

(PAROWAN) – Dixie National Forest officials have closed the Bowery Creek Road in Iron County because it’s unsafe for travel. Acting Public Information Officer for the Forest, Charity Parks, says the road is closed from now until May 25th for new bridge replacement work. The Bowery Creek Road is located on SR-143 to Yankee Meadow Reservoir and was originally built in 1935 by the CCC boys of camp F-16, which was located in Duck Creek. Alternate access to the Yankee Meadow Reservoir will be via Forest Road 048, which is located about a block south on SR-143.

(SALT LAKE CITY)-Wednesday at the Utah Legislature, legislation which would allow a student’s state education funding to be split up and sent to both online and “brick and mortar” schools was passed.

SB65, which is sponsored by Orem Republican Representative Bradley Daw, would divide the per-student funding that is sent to public schools into equal parts so students can take “a la carte” classes while the funding would follow the students.

This option would only apply to online charter schools and online programs created by Utah school districts.

Opponents originally decried this legislation, calling it a “voucher bill,” since it originally allowed students to take classes from private and out-of-state online providers.

Nevertheless, amendments and substitutions responded to those concerns.

The funding works out to about $700 per class, a figure some lawmakers questioned.

The State Office of Education currently has its own online program, called the Utah Electronic High School, which is funded through an annual state lump sum and is free to all high school students.

It will be funded the same way it has previously been for the next year so it will have time to adjust to the changes, lawmakers said.

(SALT LAKE CITY)-Abortion clinics in Utah will undergo more frequent inspections under a bill the Legislature recently passed.

Instead of the current two year format clinics are subject to, H.B.171, sponsored by Herriman Representative Carl Wimmer, would require the Utah Department of Health to inspect the state’s three abortion clinics twice a year without notice.

Doctors’ offices that perform elective abortions must also undergo these same semi-annual inspections.

The Senate approved this measure by a 22-6 margin Wednesday and it now advances to Utah Governor Gary Herbert for consideration.

Salt Lake City Democratic Senator Gene Davis voted against the ruling, saying such legislation prohibits a woman’s right of choice.

(SALT LAKE CITY)-Wednesday, a Colorado couple implicated in a massive southern Utah artifacts sting pleaded guilty.

Durango, Colo. residents Carl Lavern Crites and Marie Virginia Crites, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Dee Benson while Lavern Crites pleaded guilty to theft of government property, trafficking in stolen artifacts and depredation of government property.

Additional charges of one count apiece of stealing an archaeological artifact and transporting an archaeological artifact were dismissed in exchange for his plea.

Marie Crites, meanwhile, pleaded guilty to a single count of trafficking in stolen artifacts while she faces a maximum penalty of up to two years in prison and if sentenced to the maximum amount of prison time allowed under charges he pleaded to, Lavern Crites could face up to 22 years in prison.

The couple were just two of 25 individuals indicted last year as part of a federal crackdown on those dealing in Native American artifacts while the operation involved individuals in Utah, Colorado and New Mexico.

Roughly half of them have reached plea agreements with federal prosecutors while the other cases remain unresolved.

Undercover informant, Ted Gardiner, worked with the FBI and Bureau of Land Management in their 2 1/2-year investigation in the Four Corners area.

Gardiner made audio and video recordings of illegal transactions and bought approximately 256 archaeological artifacts totaling $336,685. Gardiner committed suicide in March 2010.

The couple will be sentenced August 11.

(SALT LAKE CITY)-Wednesday at the Utah Legislature, a bill giving Governor Gary Herbert and lawmakers more control over commissions that review proposed constitutional and tax changes.

SB44, sponsored by Orem Senator Margaret Dayton was approved 47-24 in the House after a lengthy debate focusing on whether the Constitutional Review Commission should remain independent.

The bill now goes to Herbert and awaits his signature.

Under the bill, the commissions would no longer be able to meet to review or propose potential legislation unless requested to do so by lawmakers or the governor.

Representative Mike Noel of Kanab is against this legislation, saying allowing the lawmakers and citizens who serve on the constitutional commission to consider proposed constitutional amendments dilutes power granted to a Legislature.

Noel also said Utah is the only state with a sitting constitutional commission while Ogden Representative Ryan Wilcox said the constitutional commission could still be called upon.

Representative Kay McIff of Richfield, a former judge, said the constitutional commission played an “important role,” and says this sets a “bad, public policy.”

House Budget Chairman, Coalville Representative Mel Brown, has served on the constitutional commission, questioning the need for the bill, noting the commission would lose its ability to propose amendments.

(RICHFIELD) – Rocky Mountain Power officials updated the Sevier County Planning Commission Wednesday night on the progress of the Sigurd to Red Butte transmission line project. RMP Spokesperson Mark Cox said the project is steadily moving forward with a few bumps. Cox said RMP and County Planners will hold a 45-day comment period this summer, which will include a public hearing on the 345-kilovolt line project. He said that each line structure will be 80-140-feet high and 800-1200 feet apart. Also at the meeting, Planners approved a Conditional Use Permit for Wolverine Oil to conduct exploratory wells in the Willow Creek area west of Salina. The Planning Commission also voted to retain John Worley as Chairman for 2011 and replaced Caryl Christensen with Evelyn Nielsen as Vice-Chairman.

(RICHFIELD) – The Richfield City Council has approved an application for a street improvement project located at 300 North and 100 East. City Manager Mike Langston said the $1-million project will include improvements for curb, gutter, drainage and sidewalk beginning at 300 North and continuing down 100 East to points south. Langston said improvements must be done in phases in order to fit the city’s budget. He said the next phase for the project will be done in Fiscal Year 2013 and the phase following will be in 2018. The city council also discussed the city’s responsibility with the county along a proposed route at the south end of the Airport Road.

(PAGE, Ariz.)-The Arizona Daily Sun of Flagstaff, Ariz. reports there will be no need for a May general election in the mayoral race in Page, Ariz. as Bill Diak took 73 percent of the vote in a city primary Tuesday

Diak was joined in election without a runoff by veteran John Kocjan, who was elected to his fourth term on the city council after being named on 58 percent of the 1,346 ballots cast for council.

Two other council seats will be decided by four remaining candidates in the general election May 17.

Diak is a native of Pomona, Calif. and a 31-year resident of Page, who was first elected in the 2009 primary to a council seat.

He resigned in December to run for Page’s mayoral candidacy, a two-year commitment.

Diak received 974 votes, compared to only 298 votes for former mayor Bill Justice while Adam Brown received 50 votes.

(SALT LAKE CITY)-An effort to clarify the United States’ form of government in school curriculum has passed the Senate and House and now awaits the signature of Utah Governor Gary Herbert.

H.B. 220, sponsored by Spanish Fork Representative Michael Morley, states the U.S. is a “constitutional compound republic,” and children should be taught accordingly.

Morley says the bill comes from a belief that children are not receiving correct instruction in American history.

Proponents of the bill say they’re becoming increasingly concerned that instructors use terms such as “republic” and “democracy” interchangeably while educators believe the bill is “unnecessary,” claiming the curriculum mandated by the bill is currently being taught in schools.

The measure passed the House Tuesday after receiving amendments in the Senate.

(SALT LAKE CITY)-Wednesday at the Utah Legislature, lawmakers passed a bill that would prevent the state from investing public retirement funds in Iranian oil companies.

SB112, which is sponsored by Fruit Heights Representative Julie Fisher, passed the House at a 63-3 margin and would prevent the Utah State Retirement Office from acquiring direct holdings in Iran’s petroleum industry, beginning July 1.

Fisher believes it’s “not right” to mourn with those who return from war in the Middle East and then “ship off” retirement dollars to the Iranian economy.

Salt Lake City Democrat Jackie Biskupski offered one of the few “nay” votes for the measure, said she doesn’t think it’s the Legislature’s place to make political statements about other people’s investments.

(SALT LAKE CITY)-The University of Utah announced their five recipients who will be awarded a doctorate of humane letters during the university’s commencement exercises May 6.

Chief among them are commencement speaker, Mitch Albom, an award-winning sports columnist for the Detroit Free Press, who regularly contributes to various ESPN programs, such as The Sports Reporters and is perhaps best-known for his widely acclaimed book, Tuesdays With Morrie.

Other recipients include Nobel Prize in Chemistry recipient Venkatraman “Venki” Ramakrishnan, a former professor of biochemistry at the university, Ivory Homes founder Ellis R. Ivory, longtime university supporter Joyce T. Rice and E. Parry Thomas, an individual who is credited with helping build Las Vegas into an economic powerhouse.

(ST. GEORGE)-Dixie State College has announced it will break ground on its new Jeffrey R. Holland Centennial Commons Building Monday March 21.

Upon its completion, the new building will be the home of Dixie State’s library and English department.

The event is slated for 11:00 a.m. and has been planned for the construction site at the south end of the Encampment Mall on campus.

The event is free and open to the public.

The project will be done by Salt Lake City-based Jacobsen Construction and preliminary work has already begun on the new building site, which is located south of the Gardner Student Center.

Construction is expected to be completed in June 2012.

The 170,000-square foot five-story building is expected to cost $48 million and is expected to be the keystone of Dixie’s overall campus master plan to accommodate growth, according to a press release the college issued.

In addition to state funding, the college received a $10 million anonymous donation for the building’s construction in 2008.

College administrators say this is the largest private donation it has ever received.

Due to road closures in the area during its construction, visitor parking for the groundbreaking event will be available at the Burns Arena’s north parking lot near 700 East and 300 South or the Cooper Diamonds lot on 800 East and 400 South.

(SALT LAKE CITY)-Thursday, evangelical leaders throughout the country will descend upon Salt Lake City for their first board meeting in an area which has long been dominated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

Experts say the significance of the choice of venue transcends the religious divide.

Reportedly, chief executive officers of 40 denominations will congregate in Salt Lake City and Park City for the semiannual meeting of the National Association of Evangelicals.

In addition to this gathering, the group released a statement that it plans to meet with LDS representatives as well as Utah Governor Gary Herbert.

University of Utah political science professor Tim Chambless believes what occurs in these meetings will strongly impact Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s chances of obtaining the presidency in 2012.

The Washington-based NAE is a politically-active body although personnel insist its visit to Utah is not primarily for the purpose of gauging support for a Mormon presidential candidate.

However, it is expected that panel discussions and talk about interactions between the faiths will be a significant component of Thursday’s events.

(SALT LAKE CITY)-Tuesday evening, more than 100 people gathered on the steps of Utah’s Capitol Building demanding a veto from Utah Governor Gary Herbert on the controversial H.B.477.

However, an 8:00 p.m. press conference revealed Herbert signed the bill as well as 18 other measures that have passed during the 2011 Utah Legislature.

At the rally, several protesters recited a list of complaints about the bill, which would keep most government correspondence secret from the public.

Although many legislators justified their votes as a defense against what they called “costly” and invasive “fishing expeditions” by the media, protesters claimed these changes would hurt the average citizen.

Opponents of the measure are primarily concerned about how difficult it will now be to obtain documents used to write fiscal notes to legislation and any records prepared in anticipation of litigation.

(SALT LAKE CITY)-In regard to a federal court ruling denouncing Utah’s formation of a trust to govern the assets of a polygamous sect as unconstitutional, the state’s Supreme Court is seeking more information on the matter.

In an order filed Tuesday, the Utah Supreme Court said the recent decision handed down by U.S. District Judge Dee Benson denouncing the state’s takeover of this sect’s assets may have “significant implications” for action currently pending in state court.

February 24, Benson’s ruling on the issue indicted Utah’s state court’s seizure of the property amid mismanagement of the trust by sect leaders and suggested they were in “forbidden territory” when they did so.

The trust, the United Effort Plan, was first started by the sect in question in 1942, on a concept which would allow members to share in the faith’s assets.

Sect members considering sharing these assets a religious principle and see state intervention in the trust as a violation of their religious rights.

The trust is valued at more than $110 million and holds most of the property and homes in the twin communities of Hilldale, Utah and Colorado City, Ariz. as well as properties in Bountiful, British Columbia and Eldorado, Texas.

In the Utah Supreme Court order issued Tuesday, Chief Justice Christine Durham said the federal court’s ruling, which stated it would be “inequitable in the extreme to dismiss this case, due to lack of diligence,” may impact the resolution of the other related cases still pending in state court.

She also said the court may still need to determine whether this “reformed trust” is still viable.

Durham asked for the parties involved to file additional briefs, addressing how the federal court’s ruling affects the case before the Utah Supreme Court and whether their previous ruling that the court action came too late would affect future claims of unconstitutionality.

(RICHFIELD) – The Richfield City Council has tentatively approved the placement of a Community Covenant sign at the Centennial Park at the north end of the city. During a discussion at the city council meeting Tuesday night, Councilmember Mike Turner presented the council with a plan to join efforts with military personnel, who will be deployed overseas this summer. Turner said the sign will draw attention in support of the troops. He said businesses can also participate by displaying Covenant signs in their windows at a cost of $20 each. Turner commented that the 222nd will place signatures on the Community Covenant signs in a ceremony slated for May 19 at the newly remodeled Armory. The council approved placing the sign at the park upon clearance from the Planning Commission and Zoning Administrator.

FILLMORE, Utah (AP)-Pancho Alcala posted four goals and Brian Arros added a hat trick as the Millard Eagles smacked the Beaver Beavers, 8-2 Tuesday in 2A South boys soccer action.

SALINA, Utah (AP)-Carson Bell had two goals and the Parowan Rams edged the North Sevier Wolves, 4-3 in 2A South boys soccer action Tuesday. Landon Mickelsen had two goals in defeat for the Wolves.

MOAB, Utah (AP)-Francisco Ortiz amassed four goals and the Grand Red Devils bludgeoned the South Sevier Rams, 6-1 Tuesday in 2A South boys soccer action. Nick Deryke scored the sole goal in defeat for the Rams.

SALINA, Utah (AP)-Sadiee Brown drove in the game-winning RBI as the North Sevier Lady Wolves held off the Richfield Lady Wildcats, 7-6 in non-region softball action Tuesday. J.C. Hutchings had a double in the loss for Richfield.

(WASHINGTON D.C.) – The Bureau of Land Management has announced a list of 19 priority projects for developing renewable energy within the National System of Public Lands. The list includes nine solar projects, five wind projects and five geothermal projects throughout the western U.S. BLM Director Bob Abbey said the solar projects’ potential output is about 2,673 megawatts and the five wind projects would produce about 1,024 megawatts of potential output. Abbey said the five geothermal projects total about 489 megawatts of potential output. The priority list was developed in collaboration with the Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Park Service.

(GUNNISON) – Several Gunnison residents are expressing skepticism concerning the complete cleanup of the Top Stop gasoline spill in 2007. At a city council meeting last month, Utah Department of Environmental Quality project manager, Morgan Atkinson told councilmembers that even though the project is going well, the contractor doing the job is not keeping the DEQ updated on its progress. Atkinson said many areas around the spill have been decontaminated and his office will do a better job of getting tough with the contractor but several citizens doubt the effort. Councilmember Trevor Powell said he appreciates the new DEQ project manager’s positive approach and more open communication with the council. The cleanup effort is the result of a gasoline tank that leaked 20,000 gallons of gas at the old Top Stop gas station that caused several businesses to be closed down and homes demolished due to contamination.

(ST. GEORGE)-St. George-based SkyWest Airlines has announced that they will begin launching United Express flights from the city’s new airport to Los Angeles International Airport.

The roundtrip flight operates six times a week onboard the EMB 120 Brasilia aircraft and will provide southern Utah-based travelers direct access to the West Coast and United Airlines’ global network.

The short flight to hundreds of daily departures at LAX and competitive fares continue to make flying an affordable option for many southern Utahns who need swift access to the West’s largest city.

(SALT LAKE CITY)-The Salt Lake Tribune reports an early grades reading program and optional, extended-day kindergarten, will likely get money to continue next school year, under an agreement reached by the governor and Senate and House Republicans.

Under the deal, both programs, optional extended-day kindergarten and the K-3 reading improvement program, will get as much money as they did this year, although the State Office of Education would be required to request proposals for technology for those programs.

They would not, however, be required to purchase the technology, which would be optional, according to Senate Majority Leader, Plain City Republican Scott Jenkins.

Jenkins said school districts are now trying the same things over and over and expecting different results, although lawmakers don’t want to force the issue.

Districts would also be granted more flexibility in how the kindergarten money is used.

Two bills, H.B.302 and H.B.447, are aimed at putting the types of optical technology the governor and GOP lawmakers are advocating for.

H.B.302 would allow districts to opt into an early grades electronic reading assessment program and passed the House on Monday while an earlier, mandatory version failed.

Meanwhile, H.B.447, which would allow districts to use extended-day kindergarten money for technology, is awaiting action in the House.

(SALT LAKE CITY) – The Senate overwhelmingly passed a bill on Friday that would increase the number of restaurants that could serve alcohol. Sponsor of the bill, Sen. John Valentine of Orem, says SB-314 would allow 40 additional restaurants to obtain one of the state’s limited liquor licenses. The licenses available would be 25 limited-service for beer and wine only and 15 full-service. Valentine said the changes are not designed to encourage drinking but to ensure liquor is consumed with food, which he said reduces intake. The legislation would step up enforcement in correspondence with the new permits. The bill now moves to the House for consideration.

(LOGAN)-Identification of new sweet receptors in the gut is granting researches more ammunition to tell people to cut back on the amount of sweets they take into their bodies.

While there is no shortage of artificial sweeteners on the market, Utah State University neurologist Tim Gilbertson has said there is hope of finding one that registers more effectively with our bodies.

Gilbertson said that for years scientists have been aware of a specific taste receptor enabling our bodies to taste sugars and artificial sweeteners, but there have been additional sensors confirmed throughout digestive and endocrine systems that allow bodies to detect and absorb dietary sugars.

Taste cells on the tongue inform the rest of the body something sweet is present while the newly identified “gut sensors” determine whether the amounts are satisfying, Gilbertson said.

Gilbertson, a professor in USU’s biology department and the director of the university’s Center for Advanced Nutrition, contributed to a recent study confirming the body’s ability to taste sweets is “delectably complex” and involves more taste sensors than originally thought.

The study was led by Robert Margolskee of the Philadelphia-based Monell Chemical Senses Center and the results were slated to appear in Tuesday’s issues of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, one of the world’s most-cited multidisciplinary scientific journals.

(SALT LAKE CITY) – A gun-free zone around schools would be removed under a bill approved in the Senate on Friday but one senator says he’s confident the governor will veto the bill. The Senate passed the bill 19-8 on Friday, with Sen. Lyle Hilliard of Brigham City, joining Democrats in opposition. HB75, sponsored by Rep. Curt Oda of Clearfield, would lift a 1,000-foot gun-free perimeter around schools, allowing people to openly carry weapons outside the grounds. The House passed the measure last month. Sen. Hilliard attempted to amend the measure to set a boundary of the road or 50 feet, whichever is less, an amendment he said came at the behest of Gov. Gary Herbert’s office. The amendment also failed in the Senate 14-10. Sen. David Hinkins of Orangeville, sponsor of the bill, said we have constitutional rights to carry firearms and added, the bill brings Utah in line with other states where the absence of a buffer zone is not a problem.

(SALT LAKE CITY)-Monday at the Utah Legislature, the House passed a bill making it unlawful for adults to smoke in cars when children are present.

The bill, H.B.89, narrowly passed at a 39-35 margin and will now advance to the Senate for further consideration.

H.B.89, which is sponsored by Salt Lake City Democrat Patricia Arent, was deemed controversial after lawmakers expressed concern over what some considered a “slippery slope” of reducing individual freedoms for citizens.

The bill would make it illegal to smoke in cars when children 15 years or younger are inside and its violation would result in as much as a $45 fine that could be waived provided the driver enrolls in a smoking cessation course.

Orem Representative Brad Daw made a motion that the fine a police officer would give an offender be replaced with an information pamphlet outlining the dangers of smoking. The motion failed.

Arent further advocated for her legislation by saying since smoking is already illegal in most public venues, none of the locations are as small as the confines of a car.

(SALT LAKE CITY) – An attempt to repeal Utah’s driver privilege card failed in the Senate Friday but a bill that would tighten requirements to obtain the license succeeded. Sen. Stephen Urquhart of St. George said the driver privilege card is primarily used by undocumented immigrants and “puts up a big welcome sign to illegal aliens.” He said that because only a birth certificate is needed to get the card, it’s rife with fraud. Urquhart’s sponsored SB-138 would have ended the practice of a driver privilege card but Sen. Curt Bramble of Provo, successfully amended the measure to keep the program intact, with the requirement of fingerprints and a background check through the Bureau of Criminal Identification and the FBI. Those found to have felony criminal records would referred to ICE and those with outstanding warrants to the appropriate jurisdiction. According to the driver license division, nearly 42,000 undocumented immigrants and about 700 non-citizen legal residents possess the card. The Senate passed the amended bill 23-5 on Friday. It now moves to the House.

(CEDAR CITY) – A Utah Highway Patrol Trooper’s car was hit near Cedar City while he was investigating a vehicle crash on I-15 Monday morning. UHP reported that Trooper Kim Riddle’s vehicle was parked in the median on southbound I-15 with its emergency lights on, when the driver of a passenger car lost control on the snow covered road and slammed into the back of the trooper’s car. The driver of the passenger car was not injured and Trooper Riddle received minor injuries. The Iron County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the crash.

(GLENWOOD) – The Sevier County Sheriff’s Office received a report of two mountain lions spotted at a residence in Glenwood Sunday night. Deputies said the call came in at about 9:45pm where the animals came on the property of the Holt residence at 275 South 200 East. The Holt’s were watching deer come down the mountain when they saw two mountain lions, that appeared to be cubs, following the deer. The family told deputies that the lions came into their yard and were last seen near some farm equipment on their property. Deputies responded but were unable to locate the mountain lions.

(CENTERFIELD) – Centerfield Police confiscated a pick up truck load of wild seed along U.S. Hwy 89 last month. Police Chief Brett McCall said the Forest Service may have sent a message to Richfield dispatch to watch for the truck along the route. Sanpete dispatch was then contacted and McCall spotted a pickup truck overfilled with seed sacks. McCall pulled the driver over and said he didn’t have a permit or receipt for the 1200 pounds of seed in 56 bales in the bed of his truck. The driver was cited and the seed was sold to an Ephraim buyer for $1,000. McCall said the check for the seed went directly to Centerfield Town’s general fund. State law says you must have proof of ownership of any transported product that can be harvested from the BLM or Forest Service land.

(WASHINGTON D.C.) – Former Sen. Bob Bennett plans to consult with The Wilderness Society to reproduce an agreement that brought environmentalists, developers and local officials together to preserve land in Washington County. Bennett, who formed his own consulting firm since leaving office, says he has a good working relationship with environmental groups and has been asked to replicate his efforts. Bennett, in tandem with Rep. Jim Matheson, helped settle a long battle between those aiming to preserve open space in Washington County and those seeking to develop areas in one of the nation’s fastest-growing locales. The final bill, which drew support from all sides, set aside 256,000 acres for protection, while opening up other areas for development. Other local officials, including those from San Juan, Piute and Emery Counties, soon entered into conversations about their own bills modeled after the Washington County measure. Interior Secretary, Ken Salazar, is a big fan of such efforts.

(FLAGSTAFF, Ariz.)-KGUN-TV, Channel 9 in Tucson, Ariz. reports a group of Flagstaff, Ariz. residents are pushing U.S. Forest Service officials to ban campfires each summer to prevent wildfires such as the one that burned more than 15,000 acres last year.

Several Flagstaff residents are going door-to-door in neighborhoods northeast of the city and are trying to get neighbors to join them in their cause.

Officials with the Coconino National Forest have told the Flagstaff-based Arizona Daily Sun they are planning some new limits after the Schultz fire, but probably won’t set annual restrictions in advance.

(ZION NATIONAL PARK)-This past weekend, Zion National Park announced the reopening of the Zion Human History Museum and South Campground at the national park, superintendent Jock Whitworth said.

Both of these visitors’ facilities have been closed through the winter months and in addition to these reopenings, the park horse concession, Canyon Trail Rides, will begin operations for the season.

The Zion Human History Museum will be open daily from 10:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. while the South Campground’s 127 campsites are now open on a first-come first-serve basis.

Canyon Trail Rides will offer both one and three-hour guided horse trips along the Sand Bench Trail, starting Saturday March 12.

(SALT LAKE CITY)-The Salt Lake Tribune reports Utah scientists have moved closer to understanding the role genes play in developing heart disease while determining who is most at risk.

An international study, consisting of 150,000 case studies found 13 new genetic markers linked to coronary artery disease and confirmed 10 that were previously believed to be linked.

The study involves cardiologists and geneticists at Murray’s Intermountain Medical Center and promises to pave the way for new research, as well as dynamic treatments, which may someday give hope to numerous Americans infected with the disease.

The study, which was published Sunday in Nature Genetics magazine, was led by researchers at the University of Leicester in Leicester, United Kingdom and the University of Lubeck in Lubeck, Germany, but also involved 150 scientists from across Europe, Canada and the United States.

The consortium began with an analysis of 14 previous studies based on the complete genetic profiles of more than 85,000 people of European descent with heart disease and to validate the findings, researchers then compared the data to data from 60,000 new heart patients, 10 percent of which were Utahns who volunteered to have their DNA collected and stored in the hospital’s cardiovascular database.

Via this study, technology enabled the team to find 10 genetic markers which appear to contribute to heart disease independent of traditional risk factors, such as high cholesterol and blood pressure, diabetes, smoking and obesity.

Authorities caution these findings do not lessen the importance of living a healthy lifestyle.

(SALT LAKE CITY)-As of Monday, Utah Governor Gary Herbert’s office announced the governor was in no hurry to decide on a controversial bill which has been seen as an attempt to roll back the state’s open records act approved shortly after it first surfaced last week.

Herbert’s spokeswoman, Ally Isom, says Herbert plans to take the necessary amount of time in order to review the bill.

Isom said the governor’s office has already received numerous calls about H.B.477 since it was passed Friday afternoon.

Isom says most of the calls have advocated that the governor veto this bill although at this stage, he plans to keep all options on the table.

The current legislation in place on the matter, the decades-old Government Records Access and Management Act, allows the public to request records from government sources.

Reportedly, H.B.477 would largely exempt the legislative branch from the law as well as several forms of communication, such as voice mail and text messaging.

The bill would also raise fees for some requests and give state agencies more time to respond to requests.

The bill is primarily being opposed by media outlets and various public advocacy groups although lawmakers say it will protect the privacy of their constituents.

Since the bill surfaced, the governor’s office and the Legislature have received several new requests for information filed under GRAMA.

(SALT LAKE CITY)-Last Saturday, supporters of immigrations’ rights gathered to say they are angry about the Legislature’s attempts at a “Utah solution” to illegal immigration.

Numerous catcalls denouncing Orem Representative Stephen Sandstrom, who has pioneered legislation in the state similar to Arizona’s SB1070, rained down from the Salt Lake City-County building Friday evening while Utah Governor Gary Herbert has received phone calls asking he veto bills proposed by Sandstrom and other politicians against illegal immigration in the state.

The key bill in question, H.B.116, is sponsored by Holden Representative Bill Wright, and would set up a program for illegal immigrants to obtain a work permit through the state’s Department of Public Safety while forcing those who apply to pay fines upward of $2,500.

Before May 11, illegal immigrants in the state would be eligible for the permit.

The bill also requires businesses with at least 15 employees to verify their legal status and compels authorities to check the immigration status of anyone arrested for a felony or a Class A misdemeanor.

(ST. GEORGE)-Saturday evening, a St. George family was deprived of a home after a fire consumed their double wide trailer.

St. George Fire Chief Robert Stoker said the fire started around 7:15 p.m. near the east end of an industrial park in the northeastern sector of the city.

At the time, the family was inside the home and noticed smoke wafting from what seemed to be a water heater at the back of the trailer.

The fire then spread quickly while and when crews arrived, the home was completely encompassed in flames.

Officials say they were able to swiftly suppress the flames and there were no injuries.

The St. George Fire Department is currently investigating the cause of the fire.

(SALT LAKE CITY)-A man wanted by authorities in Montana has been arrested in Utah after he tried to run from police Sunday night.

Police say the man was traveling on a Greyhound bus en route to California while Greyhound officials noticed the man was carrying marijuana and called police.

Officers arrived at 300 West and 600 South in downtown Salt Lake City and checked the man for warrants when he suddenly bolted across the train tracks and ran to a warehouse.

Authorities then chased him down and discovered him hiding under a trailer.

The man has been thrown into jail in the interim and he is awaiting extradition to Montana where he will face drug charges.

(SALT LAKE CITY)-When the Utah Legislature ends in a few days, a final budget proposal will likely feature only minimal cuts, while leaving the state’s reserve fund virtually untouched.

Some of the casualties may include a few state-run liquor stores and $7 million that otherwise would have gone to the Utah State Prison at Draper.

Overall, the $12 billion budget is essentially flat with an additional $50 million proposed for public education and $37 million for Medicaid growth.

Senate Budget chairman, Logan Republican Lyle Hillyard, called this a “responsible budget,” which sets the state up for next year, especially if the economy’s slow recovery should stall.

Democratic leaders are cautiously supporting the budget proposal, primarily due to education and Medicaid funding.

(SALINA) – Salina City officials are speeding up the completion of irrigation projects before spring water is turned into the system by mid-April. Mayor Conrad Miller says at last month’s city council meeting, councilmembers approved the issuance of revenue bonds to pay for the completion of additional projects, along with their Main Street project. Representatives of Jones and DeMille Engineering of Richfield also attended the meeting to present the council with a tabulation bid for the Irrigation Structure Replacements. The council approved a bond for over $1 million to go towards the project.

RICHFIELD, Utah (AP)-Dallin Duncan had 20 points and 10 rebounds and the Monticello Buckaroos lived to play another day by downing the Milford Tigers, 48-45 Friday at the 1A state tournament. Dylan Jones had 24 points and six rebounds in the loss for the Tigers. Monticello next meets Bryce Valley Saturday at 1:30 p.m.

RICHFIELD, Utah (AP)-Jason Johnson and Justin Johnson combined for 44 points and 17 rebounds as the Green River Pirates eliminated the Duchesne Eagles, 56-50 Friday at the 1A state tournament. Green River next meets the Piute Thunderbirds Saturday at 12:00 p.m.

RICHFIELD, Utah (AP)-Kelton Price had 20 points and 10 boards and the Piute Thunderbirds overpowered the Valley Buffaloes, 50-38 at the 1A state tournament Friday. Lance Maxwell had 13 points and seven boards in the loss for Valley.

RICHFIELD, Utah (AP)-Eddie Dunham keyed a balanced scoring attack with 13 points as the Bryce Valley Mustangs stymied the Tabiona Tigers, 64-43 Friday at the 1A state tournament. Dane Rhoades had 17 points and 16 boards in defeat for Tabiona.

RICHFIELD, Utah (AP)-Brayden Facemeyer had 35 points, 13 assists and six rebounds and the Liahona Tigers advanced to the 1A state championship game by downing the Intermountain Christian Lions, 71-60 in the semifinals Friday evening. Liahona draws Wasatch Academy Saturday afternoon at 5:00 p.m.

RICHFIELD, Utah (AP)-Toronto native Jarryn Skeete had 23 points and the Wasatch Academy Tigers stymied the Rich Rebels, 64-53 Friday evening at the 1A state semifinals. Kayden Calder had 21 points in the loss for Rich.

(FILLMORE) – Millard County Commissioners ratified a motion Tuesday to adopt a resolution in support for the construction of the Topaz Museum and the Delta Community Center. The resolution involves securing $3 million in grants to fund construction of the facilities. County officials said one grant would be $2 million and the other would be a Community Impact Board grant of a million dollars. Matching loans may also need to be secured to gain funding. Future public hearings will also be held to gain comment on the loans and grants for the facilities.

(SPRINGDALE) – Zion National Park visitor facilities will be reopened this weekend after being closed throughout the winter months. Park Superintendent Jock Whitworth announced the reopening of Zion Human History Museum and South Campground on Saturday. Museum hours will be from 10am to 5pm daily and highlights the interaction of mankind with the natural resources. The 127 campsites at South Camground will also be available on a first-come, first-serve basis beginning Saturday. Park officials say the Canyon Trail Rides will offer three-hour guided horse trips on the Sand Bench Trail starting March 12.

(MOAB) – Several state and federal agencies met in session Tuesday with Grand County Council officials over water rights at national parks in the state. At issue is a clarification of an agreement with federal officials over water rights at Arches National Park. State agents, including Arches superintendents, representatives at the state water division and national park service heads, said since water in Utah is the property of the public, the state controls its use. State officials said a clarification needs to be made for state appropriative rights and federal reserved water rights. Under the system, anyone in Utah, including the federal government, needs to submit an application to the state for the use of water, with state approval. Under the agreement, the feds reserve water rights to support national parks, Indian reservations and the military bases. All agencies agreed that no water rights can be expanded for the state or federal government to protect future planning. The Water Rights Agreement is a cooperative effort between the two entities to manage water rights in the state.

(LAKE POWELL) – A fire destroyed four houseboats and a personal watercraft docked in the Wahweap Marina at Lake Powell on Wednesday. A witness of the fire said he and his party first noticed the fire at about 4:30pm and called marina emergency personnel. A marina fireboat responded, along with National Park Service fireboats. When officials arrived, they found the houseboats fully engulfed by the fire. No one was onboard the boats and no injuries were reported. There’s no word yet on what caused the fire and no estimate on the cost to the boat owners.

RICHFIELD, Utah (AP)-Brayden Facemaker had 19 points, eight rebounds and eight assists as the Liahona Warriors downed the West Ridge Fighting Eagles, 70-37 at the 1A state tournament Wednesday at the Sevier Valley Center. Liahona next meets Bryce Valley Thursday evening at 8:30 p.m.

RICHFIELD, Utah (AP)-Kace Roundy had 23 points and made the game-winning shot in double overtime as the Bryce Valley Mustangs began defense of their 1A state championship with a 55-53 win over the Duchesne Eagles at the Sevier Valley Center Wednesday.

RICHFIELD, Utah (AP)-The Intermountain Christian Lions shot 53 percent for the game in a 70-37 rout of the Dugway Mustangs Wednesday at the 1A state tournament at the Sevier Valley Center. ICS next meets Tabiona Thursday evening at 7:00 p.m.

RICHFIELD, Utah (AP)-Dane Rhoads amassed 18 points and seven rebounds and the Tabiona Tigers downed the Green River Pirates, 47-41 at the 1A state tournament Wednesday at the Sevier Valley Center.

RICHFIELD, Utah (AP)-Kayden Calder had 24 points to lead the Rich Rebels to a narrow 55-50 win over the Panguitch Bobcats Wednesday athe Sevier Valley Center in the 1A state tournament. Tyce Barney had 17 points and 12 rebounds in the loss for the Bobcats. Rich next faces Monticello Thursday at 5:30 p.m.

RICHFIELD, Utah (AP)-Dallin Duncan stepped up with 26 points and seven boards as the Monticello Buckaroos bested the Valley Buffaloes, 52-41 at the 1A state tournament Wednesday at the Sevier Valley Center. Lance Maxwell had 17 points in defeat for the Buffs. Valley and Panguitch will square off in the consolation round Thursday at 11:30 a.m.

RICHFIELD, Utah (AP)-Evaldis Aniulis had 17 points and seven rebounds as the Wasatch Academy Tigers dismantled the Piute Thunderbrids, 54-36 Wednesday at the Sevier Valley Center in the 1A state tournament. Cash Newby had nine points in the loss for the Thunderbirds, who will next face Whitehorse Thursday afternoon at 1:00 p.m. The Tigers will meet Milford Thursday at 4:00 p.m.

RICHFIELD, Utah (AP)-Dylan Jones stepped up with 14 points and eight boards and the Milford Tigers edged the Whitehorse Raiders, 47-46 at the 1A state tournament Wednesday. Shawn Dickson had 23 points and 11 boards in the loss for Whitehorse.

(SALT LAKE CITY) – The four-year old daughter of her non-custodial mother has been returned to her father in Pennsylvania. Police reports said that Ryla Kilmer was reunited with her father, Joseph Kilmer on Tuesday, after his estranged wife, Laura Kilmer, took the child and was on the run, cris-crossing the country for two months, before she was apprehended in Salt Lake City. Kilmer said he hasn’t seen his daughter since December and was excited to get a call that his daughter had been found. Pennsylvania police reported that Laura indicated that if police got too close to her and her daughter, she would kill Ryla and then kill herself. Utah’s Joint Criminal Apprehension Team arrested Laura Friday, when she left her sister’s home in West Valley City and stopped at a gas station on Redwood Road a short time later. Police said they found a loaded .40-calibre handgun underneath the seat. She remains in custody and is awaiting to be extradited to Pennsylvania to face charges. Kilmer is in a custody battle with his estranged wife.

(ST. GEORGE) – The Bureau of Land Management is offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to a conviction in the dumping of transformer casings at Wire Mesa near Rockville. BLM officials said that three large and one small power transformer casings were found during the summer of 2010 in a remote area of Wire Mesa, located along the scenic byway between Rockville and Apple Valley. Officials said that spilled oil from the casings contained high concentrations of PCB’s, a known cancer-causing agent. The Environmental Protection Agency outlawed the manufacture of PCB’s in 1979 under the authority of the Toxic Substances Control Act. The EPA says that items containing PCB’s must be disposed of properly. BLM officials said the cleanup of the transformer casing cleanup costs will exceed $50,000.

HOVENWEEP, Utah (AP)-Shawn Dickson posted 32 points and Tavis Martin added 17 more as the Whitehorse Raiders smacked the Altamont Longhorns, 71-51 Tuesday in a 1A crossover game. The Raiders next face Milford Wednesday evening at 8:30 p.m. at the Sevier Valley Center in the first round of the 1A state tournament.

DUCHESNE, Utah (AP)-McKade Nielsen had 14 points and the Duchesne Eagles smacked the Monument Valley Cougars, 69-39 in a 1A crossover game Tuesday. The Eagles will next meet the defending 1A champion Bryce Valley Mustangs Wednesday morning at 11:30 p.m. at the Sevier Valley Center. Please remember to tune in on KMGR.