(RICHFIELD) – Hundreds of Snow College Richfield students participated in graduation ceremonies today at the Sevier Valley Center Theatre. Communications Director Greg Dart said this year is the largest number of students on both the Richfield and Ephraim campuses to graduate in Snow’s history. He commented that State Sen. Ralph Okerlund was the featured speaker at the Richfield campus graduation and Spencer Eccles will be the featured speaker Saturday at the Ephraim campus. Eccles served as chairman of First Security Bank for nearly 20 years, before its merger with Wells Fargo in 2000. Valedictorian at the Snow College Ephraim will be Jacquel Christensen, the daughter of Dave and Kathy Christensen of Richfield and former Richfield High School basketball player. Christensen currently plays for the Lady Badgers. Salutatorian will be Timothy Patterson, son of Ron and Linda Patterson of the Salina area. Commencement gets underway at 10am Saturday at the Activities Center in Ephraim.

(SALT LAKE CITY) – The Utah Bureau of Land Management has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Disabled Sports USA that would allow wounded veterans to participate in river running trips around the state. The MOU says about 50 wounded military veterans would have the opportunity to participate in five multi-day river running trips on the Green River, as well as the Colorado and San Juan Rivers. Disabled Sports USA is a national, non-profit organization established in 1967 by disabled Vietnam veterans to serve the war injured. Officials say participation in outdoor recreation activities enhance self-confidence, physical and mental well-being and quality of life for those with disabilities. Six of Disabled Sports USA’s chapters are collaborating with BLM Field Offices in Moab, Monticello and Price to organize the river trips.

(PRICE) – Forest Service officials are warning the public to be aware of flood danger on forest roads due to mud slides from heavy snow melt. Authorities on the Manti-La Sal National Forest have issued a caution, saying that forest roads can be saturated with mud, or blocked with snow drifts. Mud slides and rolling rocks are common on the Forest this time of year but with extremely wet soils this year, the next few weeks can be treacherous. Forest personnel say creeks an streams are running unusually high this year and become faster during mid-day when temperatures rise. They ask recreationists to avoid camping along streams, rivers, washes and steep drainages. Sanpete District Ranger, Jeff Gardner, said some area streams are already at 1983 levels. He said some forest roads are currently closed, including Rock Canyon, Horn Mountain, Miller’s Flat and Maple Canyon.

(MOAB) – The Moab Tailings Project will see 200 layoffs in July due to the end of stimulus funding. The U.S. Department of Energy says funding awarded to the project two years ago is due to run out this summer, causing the layoffs of nearly two-thirds of the workforce. DOE Project Director Don Metzler says contract employees facing termination are part of an “A-Team”, who put the project ahead of schedule beyond anyone’s expectations. What was once 16-million tons of radioactive uranium tailings left from the legacy of a now-defunct mine has been reduced by nearly 25-percent. In June, Metzler said he expects the removal to hit the 4-million milestone. Cleanup was accelerated with the April 2009 allocation of $108 million in federal stimulus funding that allowed the project to run trains hauling 144 containers twice daily, five days a week. The tailings, located outside of town near the Colorado River, are ferried to a disposal site 30 miles away at Crescent Junction.

(RICHFIELD) – A female semi truck driver out of Missouri escaped injury Wednesday morning when the left rear tire blew out on her trailer and caught fire on I-70. According to a UHP report, 53-year old Angela Bowen of Marshfield, MO., was eastbound in her 2007 Kenworth semi, when the tire blew just south of the Richfield exit at about 6:20am. UHP said Bowen disconnected the trailer and her co-driver put out the fire with a fire extinguisher. No injuries were reported.

(RICHFIELD) – The Sevier County Sheriff’s Office is accepting expired drug prescriptions this Saturday as part of the Drug Enforcement Agency’s National Take Back Day. Sheriff Nate Curtis, along with the Millard County Sheriff’s Department, are reminding residents to safely dispose of unused or expired medications and over-the-counter drugs. Curtis said the prescriptions may be dropped off between 10am and 2pm Saturday at a permanent drop-off container in the lobby of the Sheriff’s Office. In Millard County, residents may drop off their drugs at the Sheriff’s Office at 765 So. Hwy 99 and in Delta at 76 North 200 West. In Beaver, residents may drop off their unused medications at the Beaver County Safety Facility at 2270 South 525 West and in Cedar City at Lin’s Marketplace at 150 North Main. Liquids and needles will not be accepted and there’s no charge for the service.

(ST. GEORGE)-To kick off a week wherein Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints President Thomas S. Monson will speak at commencement exercises, Dixie State College President Stephen D. Nadauld will address the final president’s colleagues of the month meeting Monday.

At the meeting, Nadauld will give his “State of the College” address which will include information on the various things going on around campus such as the construction of the Jeffrey R. Holland Library and Centennial Commons Building.

The President’s Colleagues of Dixie State College was founded 18 years ago by former DSC President Dr. Douglas Alder, and is a group of retired professors and other professionals who primarily live in the Washington County area.

Alder, who also started an Honors program at DSC, organized the colleagues as a way to increase academic activities on campus.

This series will resume in the 2011-12 academic year on Monday October 3.

(ELDORADO, Texas)-Polygamous sect leader Warren S. Jeffs has been moved to a West Texas jail which is closer to his group’s Yearning For Zion Ranch at Eldorado, Texas, but still imposing fewer opportunities upon him to communicate with the outside world.

The sect leader was transferred from the Reagan County (Texas) Jail at Big Lake, Texas to the Schliecher County Jail at Eldorado April 20, according to Schliecher County Sheriff David Doran.

Although he declined specifics as to why Jeffs was transferred, Doran said this move makes it easier for authorities to bring Jeffs to San Angelo, Texas for court appearances.

Eldorado is about 25 miles closer to San Angelo, and even when Jeffs was housed in Reagan County, he was still transported by deputies from the Schliecher County Sheriff’s Office, Doran said.

The larger jail at Big Lake is often used as an overflow space by authorities at the 15-bed holding facility at Schliecher County, Doran said.

Jeffs was extracted from Utah November 30 in order to face sexual assault and bigamy charges connected to alleged spiritual marriage to underage girls.

These charges all stem from a massive raid by Texas authorities on the YFZ ranch at Eldorado in 2008.

The changes in residence move the 55-year-old Jeffs closer to his congregation, but he will be restricted more severely than he was in Reagan County, where Jeffs had unlimited access to a telephone in the four-person cell wherein he was housed, according to Reagan County Sheriff Jeff Garner.

Jail records show Jeffs made more than 600 phone calls in March, although just under 500 of them were completed.

Former sect members say he used these calls to control internal affairs within the organization and excommunicated at least 30 men, including top leaders, while he also dictated “apocalyptic proclamations.”

Jeffs relinquished authority over the sect’s top legal entity after being convicted on accomplice to rape charges in 2007 but reclaimed control in February.

His conviction was overturned last summer.

The Schliecher County Jail is considerably smaller than the 96-inmate facility in Reagan County and the common room only features one phone, which is shared by all inmates, Doran said.

Doran said health problems which infected Jeffs during his stints in Utah and Arizona jails have ceased since being transported to Texas.

(GLEN CANYON NATIONAL RECREATIONAL AREA, Ariz.)-The Salt Lake Tribune reports through Thursday Glen Canyon National Recreational Area park rangers were conducting a search for a missing Massachusetts canoeist at Lake Powell.

A National Park Service spokesman at Page, Ariz. said the 23-year-old man, whose name was not initially released, was reported as missing Wednesday night after his canoe reportedly capsized during an after-dark outing with friends.

As of Thursday morning, rangers, both on shore and in boats, as well as divers at Lake Powell near Bullfrog Marina, were looking for signs of the man.

(SALT LAKE CITY)-Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff says the Federal Trade Commission needs to do more to regulate young people’s exposure to alcohol advertising in a joint statement, along with attorneys general from 23 other states.

In a letter submitted to the FTC Tuesday, the attorneys general proposed a three-step plan to keep alcohol advertising away from teens.

This proposal may also serve as a guideline for the FTC as it collects information from advertisers concerning how they advertise, sell and market alcohol.

This also includes a request that data collection be ongoing rather than intermittent, while advertising should be prohibited when more than 15 percent of the audience are between the ages of 12 and 20 and that social media advertising data also be collected.

This former FTC proposal only prohibited alcohol advertising when 30 percent or more of a given audience was of legal drinking age, the release states.

(SEATTLE)-Wednesday, incoming University of Washington President Michael K. Young, formerly of the University of Utah, said he’d be willing to take less money than his predecessor Mark Emmert, the current president of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, while also noting his new job is “complex and challenging.”

Young said his new position is akin to being the mayor of a small city, as his responsibilities include being in charge of more coaches than are employed by the local major league baseball team, the Seattle Mariners.

Monday, the UW Board of Regents named the 61-year-old Young the new president of the university to replace Emmert, who took his position with the NCAA in October 2010.

Had Emmert stayed at Washington, he would have netted more than $900,000, while Young’s total compensation at the U. was nearly $724,000.

At a news conference, Young called the presidency at the Seattle-based university “the most exciting challenge in higher education.”

Young said he had a few personal connections to the Seattle area prior to taking this position as during his childhood, he visited the Seattle World’s Fair in 1962, has eaten a meal atop the city’s famed Space Needle and been hiking along the Olympic Peninsula.

He also said his goals at the university would evolve as he learns more about the institution’s “political, educational and economic climate.”

(SALT LAKE CITY)-Last month, when Utah Governor Gary Herbert signed a bill sending millions of dollars to Utah classrooms, a more introspective look by the State Office of Education found this may not curb class sizes as was originally intended.

In fact, there is less funding per pupil in the coming year than there is this year.

Todd Hauber, the assistant superintendent for business services at the State Office of Education, says this is because of how money is allocated.

Hauber says the basic program budget includes growth and that next school year, the funding per pupil increases to $2,816 dollars, a net gain of $239 from the current $2,577 allocation per student.

Furthermore, Hauber stated both old and new money come with provisions making it inaccessible for general education.

Hauber said earmarking dollars is nothing new although it usually occurs with new money.

He also said there is no denial educators remain grateful for additional funding generally.

(TOKYO)-Late Wednesday evening, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints announced missionaries who were “previously removed from the Japan Tokyo and Japan Sendai missions will now return to areas considered safe within those missions.”

The missionaries to whom the Church has given the green light to return will be moving into those approved areas in the “near future.”

Church authorities say missionaries will go to areas a “significant distance” from those places most severely affected by the disasters of last month.

(CEDAR CITY) – A Cedar City man has been charged with homicide in the death of his 3-month old son in 2009. Cedar City court papers stated that 26-year old, Andy Gorecki, was originally charged with aggravated assault of Tayshaun Gorecki but the baby died nine months later after being taken off of life support at a long-term care facility in Davis County. Andy was then charged with homicide after the baby died. In a Cedar City courtroom Wednesday, the baby’s grandmother, Pearlene Aguilera, testified that she came home one December afternoon and found the baby with bloody foam around his nose and mouth. She said Gorecki told her the baby was not breathing. Aguilera rushed the baby to the hospital and was eventually flown to Primary Children’s Medical Center in Salt Lake City. Police said Gorecki kept changing his story of what happened to the baby, ranging from other children hitting him in the head, with formula bottles or plastic toys, to Gorecki dropping the baby. Gorecki’s arraignment will be held May 17.

(DENVER)-Wednesday, an appeals court issued an indefinite stay against a federal judge’s decision to cede control of a multimillion dollar trust back to a polygamous sect situated along the Utah-Arizona border.

The decision made by the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals signifies a temporary win for 3rd District Judge Denise Lindberg, who resisted U.S. Judge Dee Benson’s order to return management of the United Effort Plan trust to the sect.

Lindberg, along with court-appointed special fiduciary Bruce Wisan to oversee this $110 million fund.

The Denver-based appeals court found a threat of “irreparable harm” would exist should Lindberg’s request for the stay not be granted.

The order will remain in place until the 10th Circuit resolves all of the appeals.

Earlier this month, the court had issued a temporary stay.

Furthermore, the appeals court stayed Benson’s order that Lindberg stand before him and explain her reasoning for why she did not remove Wisan and herself as trust fund managers.

This order will now likely result in a clash between state officials and federal judges once the case is brought up again.

Wisan’s attorney, Jeffrey Shields, asserted the stay should be issued because probable trouble exists with the immediate dissipation of trust assets by sect leader Warren Jeffs, especially the potential danger that the trust will be used to perpetrate sex crimes against children.

Jeffs remains detained in a San Angelo, Texas jail as he awaits trial on bigamy and aggravated sexual assault charges.

(SALT LAKE CITY)-This past Tuesday, veteran Salt Lake City sportscaster Steve Klauke approached a significant milestone as he called his 2,500th broadcast for the city’s Triple A minor league baseball squad.

Klauke, who has called games for the Salt Lake Bees and their various incarnations, the Salt Lake Stingers and Salt Lake Buzz, has seen 462 players come and go since his tenure began when the team, formerly known as the Portland Beavers, moved to Salt Lake City in 1994, resurfacing as the Buzz.

Klauke estimates he has had nearly 10,000 index cards featuring such data as pitcher vs. hitter information along with other facts he has used during broadcasts.

He has also used various notebooks and media guides to document meticulous information on the various baseball players on both sides who have played at Spring Field Park through the years.

Klauke, who is impressed with the round number, says this is only game “number 19” in the current season, so that’s where his focus lies.

After an off day Wednesday, the Bees return to action when they host the Fresno Grizzlies Thursday evening.

DELTA, Utah (AP)-Austin Albers and Darrin Dutson each doubled as the Delta Rabbits edged the Gunnison Bulldogs, 3-2 Wednesday in non-region baseball action.

MT. PLEASANT, Utah (AP)-Alyssa Hall tripled, while Alex Sorensen and Anna Ledingham each doubled as the North Sanpete Lady Hawks got past the Gunnison Lady Bulldogs, 14-12 in non-region softball action Wednesday. Sara Brown homered and doubled in the loss for Gunnison while Sadee Sorensen and Stephanie Spencer also doubled for the Lady Bulldogs.

(RICHFIELD) – Sevier County Commissioners have changed their public meeting days and times. At the Commission meeting today, Commissioners changed their scheduled meeting days from Wednesdays to Mondays, starting with the June 13 meeting. Meeting times will also change from 9am to 1:30pm. Commissioner Gordon Topham said the reason for the changes resulted from Commissioners being required to attend too many outside meetings on Wednesdays. Starting in June, meetings will be held on the 2nd and 4th Mondays of each month. Commissioners also said that the county landfill will accept tires for recycling for the general public from May 16 to June 15.

(RICHFIELD) – A new event is coming to the Sevier County Fairgrounds that will showcase livestock. At the County Commission meeting today, Tourism Director Kevin Arrington presented the Western States Bucking Bull Event that feature livestock for future rodeos and other events. Arrington said Max White of Richfield is spearheading the event, where between 200 and 250 livestockmen will participate in the first year. The event will be held Aug. 26-27. County Commissioners approved the event, along with other events submitted by the Travel Council.

(RICHFIELD) – Sevier County Commissioners approved a payment today to a lobbyist who helped return revenue to Utah counties for sales taxes on mining equipment. Commissioner Gordon Topham said the county’s payment of $6710 is a small amount compared to the amount the county will gain back from the state. Back in 2007, the state dropped the collection of sales taxes on mining equipment due to the construction of the Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy by Kennecott Copper Corporation but several counties in the state had already paid taxes on the equipment and lost all the revenue. A lobbyist was hired by the Southeastern Utah Association of Governments to help pass SB76, a bill that would recover the lost tax revenue. Through the process, the lobbyist discovered thousands of dollars that the state owed Sevier County. Sanpete County’s portion of the lobbyist payment is about $1200 and Southeastern Utah’s is about $22,000.

(RICHFIELD) – Several agenda items were presented to the Richfield City Council Tuesday night, including renting pasture, landscaping agreements, telecommunications contracts and water tank property. City Manager Mike Langston discussed renting about 30 acres of pasture ground near the sewer lagoons at a $500 minimum bid on a three-year lease. Also, Scott Mason reviewed a landscaping agreement with the council for Main Street and parking lot improvements for $29,500 per year and Donnell Spencer of Qwest Communications presented the council with a contract for regular and long distance service, saving the city about $225 per month. Langston also discussed the purchase of property, owned by Chet Thompson of Richfield, for the construction of the new water tank, west of the city. The city council approved $3,000 to purchase a sixth of an acre section of Thompson’s property. The council also approved all other action items on the agenda.

(SPRINGDALE) – Zion National Park officials have announced road repair work on a section of the Zion-Mt. Carmel Highway. Road improvements will extend from the junction with the Zion Canyon Scenic Drive to the East Entrance of the park. Park Superintendent Jock Whitworth says travel will be reduced to a single lane of traffic in some areas and delays of up to 30 minutes may affect motorists between Zion Canyon and U.S. Hwy 89. Whitworth says road closures are not expected and all visitor facilities within the park will remain open. People visiting the park from the South Entrance will not be in the construction zone.

(ANNABELLA) – The Sevier River has overflowed its banks at Nebeker Lane on the Annabella Road due to continued rain and heavy runoff in our local area. Sevier County Sherrif Nate Curtis said the Piute Reservoir is flowing about 1100-feet per second to Sevier County and that amount is far above normal runnoff. Curtis also said that Seegmiller Lane is also flooded and water is flowing into fields in that area. He said motorists should be careful traveling the roads in flooded areas but there’s no emergency action that needs to be taken. Curtis said the county is preparing itself with 60,000 sandbags available and enough sand on hand. He said 100 sandbags are free for residents who need them. Contact the EMS or Sheriff’s Office for additional help.

(ST. GEORGE)-Dixie State College will host a special reception to unveil a historical triptych, created by DSC faculty member and renowned painter Del Parson, Wednesday May 4.

The event is slated for 11:00 a.m. at the Special Collections room on the second floor of the Val A. Browning library on campus.

The reception, which will also feature a presentation from Parson to DSC President Dr. Stephen A. Nadauld, is free and open to the public.

The triptych depicts prominent pioneers Jacob Hamblin, James G. Black and Charles Lowell Walker, each of whom were instrumental in the area’s establishment, and will hang in the Special Collections room, created at the request of former college librarian Audrey Shumway as a place where the public could view historical documents and other literary pieces.

Parson has been an art professor at DSC since 1988, while he is widely known for his paintings depicting the human form.

For more information, please contact library dean/director Daphne Selbert at 652-7711.

(FAIRFIELD, Conn.)-Health clinics offering free and reduced-price medical care to Utah’s poor and uninsured have been in a growth mode lately.

Thus, Fairfield, Conn.-based General Electric has contributed $500,000 in addition to federal stimulus money and large private gifts that have fueled improvements, expansions and extended hours at many of the state’s 11 federally qualified health centers.

Even standalone operations subsisting upon volunteer labor have financed remodels to meet growing patient loads.

Nevertheless, this may be the peak year for charitable clinics, which are facing an uncertain future.

As of 2014, most Americans will be required to have health coverage, thus decreasing the amount of insured customers.

Currently, roughly 60 percent of the 120,000 patients now served by Utah’s health centers are uninsured.

Of those, nearly all of them live at or below 200 percent of federal poverty or $36,000 for a family of three and will qualify for Medicaid or federal subsidies to purchase private health coverage on exchanges.

Alan Pruhs, the associate director of the Association for Utah Community Health, said plans are on hold for five new health centers in the state, while he suspects the money allocated for growth will be used to backfill the cuts.

In 2009, Utah’s health centers received $13.4 million in federal funding while delivering $23.8 million in uncompensated care, which was written off as bad debt or plugged with state dollars and private contributions.

GE has also said it will help the clinics examine how to work more efficiently.

(KAYSVILLE)-The Salt Lake Tribune reports elementary students at Kaysville’s Creekside Elementary School will meet astronaut James Halsell Jr. as part of Utah Space Week, which is currently ongoing.

This week commemorates the 10th anniversary of this event while its purpose is to help teachers discuss space exploration and astronomy.

Halsell, a NASA space shuttle veteran, is slated to speak to some 5,000 3rd-6th grade students at Davis High School in Kaysville Wednesday.

Previously, he has participated in five space shuttle missions and logged more than 1,250 hours in space.

Halsell, a native of West Monroe, La., was first selected by NASA in 1990 and became an astronaut in July 1991.

(SALT LAKE CITY)-A new study implies some of the happiest states in the union also have the highest suicide rates and Utah is no exception.

According to the study, Utah is the number one state in terms of residents’ well-being although it scored ninth in overall suicide rate as three other states also had top 10 rankings in both categories, including Colorado, Nevada and Wyoming.

Researchers for this study, suggesting that living around people who are satisfied with their lives can result in misery for their neighbors, are cautioning against the assertion that misery really loves company.

According to the Utah Department of Health, suicide is the second-leading cause of death in the state among men aged 10-44.

Doug Thomas, the assistant director of mental health and substance abuse for the state, says when it comes to suicide in the state, he is particularly concerned about youth.

According to the latest statistics obtained from the department, 80 percent of youths who commit suicide are male, while 93 percent of youths aged 13-21 who commit suicide are Caucasian, while 63 percent of those who commit suicide had contact with the juvenile justice system.

Statistics also assert firearms are the most common form of death for youth suicides, while most youths complete suicide in their homes.

The department has released several signs of possible suicide and exhorts Utahns to prevent this from happening by effectively communicating with friends who contemplate it by not being judgmental or dismissive in any way.

(SALT LAKE CITY)-Utah water officials say this year’s abnormally wet weather is not a green light for Utahns to start wasting water.

Officials say since most lawns are doing fine presently, there is no need for residents to use water on them.

Nevertheless, after hearing reports that certain residents have been watering their lawns, the state issued a statement that this is no excuse to squander the resource.

Eric Klotz, the water conservation chief for the Utah Department of Natural Resources says Utahns should water according to what their landscapes need and not to simply use it without structure.

Klotz reminds residents that the water which isn’t used goes to the Great Salt Lake, which will help maintain the state’s ecosystem.

There is also a financial incentive to eschew too much watering as state officials say the average homeowner can save roughly $5 whenever they forgo watering the lawn.

(Manti) With continued cool temperatures and weekly storms, the amount of snow still in the mountains is causing local communities to prepare for possible flooding.

Manti city and the Manti City Creek Irrigation company have been cleaning and making improvements to the flood channel and City Creek in anticipation of high water conditions. The city also has sandbags and sand available for resident who may need it. Manti City Officials do not expect any major problems, but acknowledge that much will depend on how quickly the weather warms up, as well as future rain storms.

Ephraim City is also working with their irrigation company to clean ditches and the canal to ensure that water flow will be uninhibited. The city has also made sandbags available to flood prone areas and also to local church wards. Residents who are concerned about potential flooding are encouraged to contact the city. Ephraim Officials will also meet with the irrigation company on May 4th to ensure that flood preparation are complete.

City officials throughout the area are warning residents and especially children to stay away from canals and ditches whenever there is water in them.

(BUFFALO, N.Y.)-Last month, a Buffalo N.Y. homeowner was greeted by several FBI agents who deducted his desktop computer had been documented to have numerous pornographic images on its hard drive.

Nevertheless, within three days, it was revealed the man had been telling the truth as empirical evidence showed a 25-year-old neighbor, who agents subsequently arrested, was guilty of the crime.

This case is pending in federal court and opened up a new can of worms: the importance for Americans to have secure Wi-fi connections in their homes.

Orin Kerr, a professor at Washington-based George Washington Law School said this is yet another reason for Internet users to have secure routers at their homes.

A study released in February provides a sense of how often computer users rely on the generosity, or technical shortcomings, of their neighbors in order to obtain Internet access.

A poll conducted for the Austin, Texas-based Wi-Fi Alliance, an industry group that promotes wireless technology standard, finds that among 1,054 Americans aged 18 and older, 32 percent acknowledged trying to access a Wi-fi network that wasn’t theirs.

An estimated 201 million households worldwide use Wi-Fi networks, the alliance stated.

This same study, conducted by Wakefield Research of Washington and New York, found that 40 percent of those polled said they would be more likely to trust someone with their house key than with their Wi-Fi network password.

Some, citing the generosity of others who have shared their Internet with them, are reticent to withhold Internet access from others, however.

Experts say wireless routers come with encryption software, but setting it up means users must peruse a manual.

The government’s Computer Emergency Readiness Team recommends home users make their networks invisible to others by disabling the identifier broadcasting function, which enables wireless access points to announce their presence.

This assertion also advises users to replace any default network names or passwords, since those are widely known, and to keep an eye on the manufacturer’s Web site for security patches or updates.

Meanwhile, in the international realm, in Germany, the country’s top criminal court ruled last year that Internet users must secure their wireless connections to prevent others from illegally downloading data.

The court in Berlin ruled Internet users could be fined up to $126 if a third party takes advantage of their unprotected line, although it stopped short of holding the users responsible for illegal content downloaded by the third party.

(RICHFIELD) – The Sevier County Sheriff’s Office is accepting expired drug prescriptions this Saturday as part of the Drug Enforcement Agency’s National Take Back Day. Sheriff Nate Curtis, along with law enforcement and municipalities around the state, remind residents to safely dispose of unused or expired medications and over-the-counter drugs. Curtis said the prescriptions may be dropped off between 10am and 2pm Saturday at a permanent drop-off container in the lobby of the Sheriff’s Department. In Beaver, residents may drop off their medications at the Beaver County Safety Facility at 2270 South 525 West and in Cedar City at Lin’s Marketplace at 150 North Main. Sheriff Curtis reminds people that liquids and needles will not be accepted and there’s no charge for the service.

(ZION NATIONAL PARK)-Two overdue hikers spent a cold night outside at Kolob Terrace near the north end of Zion National Park Monday evening.

Crews were able to make cellphone contact with them Monday night but couldn’t reach them.

Meanwhile, Washington County Sheriff’s deputies say the two are close to the same area where nine other missing hikers were found last week.

Washington County dispatch officers said the two hikers had water and a fire, and were not in “immediate danger.”

(SALT LAKE CITY)-In a crackdown project known as TACT, the Utah Highway Patrol is looking for cars that aren’t giving big rigs sufficient room to safely drive on Utah interstates.

UHP Lieutenant Bruce Pollei acknowledges aggressiveness is a considerable problem for big rig drivers as well, although he said 60 percent of crashes involving semis and cars are the car driver’s fault.

When drivers do not give big rigs enough room, the first precedent, set Monday, resulted in the driver receiving a warning as well as a pamphlet explaining UHP’s stance on the matter.

Thus far, the TACT campaign is as much about education, as it is enforcement.

Presently, there are billboards, radio and TV ads and a big truck featuring a warning from a UHP trooper about possible fines which may be imposed upon motorists.

Troopers want to remind drivers the real deterrent should not be the ticket, but rather the fact that if they collide with a big rig, they will always be the loser.

Pollei said troopers are also looking for people who follow too closely or who merge improperly onto a freeway.

The semi, donated by West Valley City-based CR England, is one of two rigs the UHP is using as part of its campaign.

Monday’s enforcement effort is at least one of two planned for Interstate 15 between Salt Lake City and Sandy through the next several weeks.

(CHICAGO)-While many religions have embraced social media, such as Facebook and Twitter, and their vast potential to communicate with church members and recruit new ones, others see it as a nuisance.

According to a report in the Chicago Tribune, a Chicago Catholic parish strongly exhorts parishioners to avoid using social network sites over concerns for youth particularly.

Parish leaders cited “privacy concerns,” saying “pictures, actions and thoughts” are instantaneously available to anyone in the world and listed four potential hazards to frequenting such sites: dishonesty, predators, wasting time and denial of reality.

Earlier this year, the Washington-based United States Conference of Catholic Bishops issued social media guidelines, while in a message for the Catholic Church’s World Communications Day, slated for June 11, Pope Benedict XVI supported the use of online social networks, saying they provide a great opportunity.

Nevertheless, he also exhorted Catholics to be wary of the dangers of superficial relationships.

(SALT LAKE CITY) – A thunderstorm that hit the Wasatch Front Monday night caused widespread power outages in Midvale and Grantsville. Rocky Mountain Power officials said a power outage in Midvale affected about 4800 customers and another 800 in Grantsville. RMP crews are working to restore power in both areas.

(COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.)-After receiving assistance from both the Brigham Young University and University of New Mexico athletic departments, the Mountain West Conference has completed a thorough analysis of an incident which occurred during a baseball game between the Cougars and Lobos this past weekend at Miller Park on the BYU campus.

During the April 23 game, a fight broke out between the two teams and certain players on both sides attacked umpires.

Thus, three-game suspensions have been handed out to the following players, for BYU: first baseman Ryan Bernal, a senior first baseman from Grand Junction, Colo., Bret Lopez, a freshman infielder from Orem, Brock Luker, a junior outfielder from Chandler, Ariz., and Blake Torgerson, a senior pitcher from Westminster Calif.

Suspended Lobos players included Luke Campbell, a junior outfielder from Arvada, Colo., Quay Grant, a junior utility player from Burkburnett, Texas, Cory Maltz, a junior pitcher from Houston, Jonathan Mata, a freshman pitcher from Wilmington, Calif. and John Michael Twichell, a sophomore outfielder from Sunnyvale, Texas.

Additionally, BYU head coach Vance Law was cited for “public reprimand for remarks critical of a fellow member institution” and Cougars catcher Wes Guenther, a junior from Overland Park, Kan. was guilty of “public reprimand for unduly provocative actions towards a student-athlete from another institution.”

Each of these involved individuals is now also subject to more stringent penalties under Mountain West Conference rules concerning sportsmanship as well as applicable provisions from the National Collegiate Athletic Association should they be involved in any comparable behavior in the future.

The Mountain West Conference also thanks the BYU and UNM athletic departments, under the leadership of respective athletic directors Tom Holmoe and Paul Krebs for their cooperation in adjudicating this incident.

The MWC says there will be no further comments on the matter.

FILLMORE, Utah (AP)-Caleb Murphy and Austin Pickett each doubled and the Parowan Rams smoked the Millard Eagles, 9-1 Monday in Region 13 baseball action.

FILLMORE, Utah (AP)-Carson Robinson and Rhett Bassett combined for three hits and the Parowan Rams blanked the Millard Eagles, 10-0 in a Region 13 baseball doubleheader Monday.

(LOA) – Wayne County Commissioners are in discussion with the Bureau of Land Management over a land trade to eventually build a reservoir in the county. County Clerk Ryan Torgerson said the discussions are currently in preliminary stages and no decisions have yet been made. The Wayne County Water Conservancy district, Commissioners and BLM officials have discussed trading SITLA lands for BLM lands to construct the reservoir. Commissioners also reviewed county maps for any problems that may affect road claims concerning wilderness designations in the county.

(WASHINGTON D.C.) – The Bureau of Land Management moved today to facilitate right-of-way applications for lands with renewable energy development potential. On Tuesday, the BLM will publish rules in the Federal Register that would allow the BLM, when necessary for the orderly administration of the public lands, to temporarily segregate lands in wind or solar energy ROW applications from the location of mining claims or other land appropriations. Under existing regulations, lands included in a renewable energy ROW application differ from lands proposed for exchange or sale, which can be closed to the filing of mining claims. Since 2006, the BLM has processed 24 solar and wind energy development ROW applications and over the last two years, 437 new mining claims were located within wind energy ROW application areas in Utah, Arizona, California, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon and Wyoming. The BLM said 216 new mining claims were located within solar energy ROW application areas.

(ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.)-KOB-TV, Channel 4 in Albuquerque, N.M. reports the federal government is considering New Mexico as a site to dump radioactive waste.

The Albuquerque Journal reported three of seven sites under consideration from a nuclear waste include three locations throughout the state, including the Waste Isolation Pilot plant near Carlsbad, N.M.

A second location, near WIPP, is also on the list of possible locations, as well as the Los Alamos (N.M.) National Laboratory.

A Department of Energy official says much of the waste comes from machinery in old nuclear power plants and has technically been categorized as “low level,” but still sufficiently dangerous that federal officials have called for burying it underground.

Members of the Nuclear Waste Safety Project say they oppose singling out New Mexico for three of the seven sites in question.

(SALT LAKE CITY) – A nationwide survey says in spite of a spike in gas prices over the last two weeks, it may be nearing its peak. According to the Lundberg survey of gas stations, the average price of gas nationally hit $3.88 a gallon. Salt Lake City hit a price of $3.67 and Richfield’s average price was $3.65 a gallon. The survey noted that back in 2008, the all-time high nationally was $4.11 a gallon and Utah’s all-time high was $4.22. Lundberg predicted that if prices haven’t peaked by now, there’s a good chance they will before the summer driving season. The survey found the highest price in the country is in Chicago at $4.27 a gallon with the lowest price in Tucson, AZ. at $3.54. Over the weekend, Pres. Obama appointed a task force to fight fraud and price manipulation in the oil markets. Obama made the gas spike the subject of his weekly radio and Internet address on Saturday.

(FT. GREEN) – Eight North Sanpete High School girls competed for Miss Lamb Day Friday night and three were chosen as the royalty. Judges selected Cali Anderson, a sophmore, as Queen with Chelsey Peckham, a junior, as First Attendant. Second Attendant is Vitorria Hiltbrunn, a junior at NSHS. The pageant was held at the Ft. Green Elementary School and was directed by Kathy Taylor and Robyn Cox.

(WELLSVILLE) – Cache Valley farmers are facing negative crop yields due to flooding from heavy rains this spring. Vern Gunnell, a Wellsville farmer, runs about a 150 acres of Cache Valley land that belongs to a family trust and says he normally plants barley by May 1 with the first cut in July but now says he may not be able to cut it until September. Gunnell says he may risk an early frost. He also commented that on top of that, taxes still need to be paid on crop yield and if it’s not as good, you may not have enough to even pay the bills. Others face similar situations in northern Utah, where the price for planting escalates quickly. Wheat farmers say a bushel of wheat selling for five to six dollars and barley for three, the loss could amount to thousands of dollars a day. Farmers are hoping that crop yields can still produce if May is warm and dry, even with a late planting season.

(SALT LAKE CITY)-While the housing bubble may have burst for many in recent years, not every segment of the market is presently suffering.

According to the Salt Lake Board of Realtors, 91 homes valued at more than $1 million sold along the Wasatch Front last year, a 12 percent increase from 2009.

Thus far this year, 15 seven-figure homes have already been sold.

Deanna Dipo, the president of the Salt Lake Board of Realtors said pricing has stabilized in Utah, so high-end properties are definitely of value, she said.

Dipo also stated of the million-dollar homes sold in the past year, 38 were cash purchases while approximately 18 percent of the upscale homes were sold on short sales or bank-owned properties.

In other words, notwithstanding the seven-figure price tag, they were still priced much lower than originally listed, Dipo said.

The highest priced home sold along the Wasatch Front in 2010 went for more than $6 million, while $3.5 million was the highest-paid price and homes in this price range tend to sell well in Utah, Dipo said.

The sales activity in high-end homes is not just a phenomenon along the Wasatch Front, Dipo says, as sales in seven-figure priced homes are up 4 percent nationally.

(CEDAR CITY)-An ancient clay bowl, still in excellent condition, has been recovered by federal land managers in a remote area of southern Utah.

This bowl is believed to have been made by members of the Fremont Indian culture nearly 1,000 years ago, according to reports in the Salt Lake Tribune and St. George Spectrum.

The Bureau of Land Management was notified of this discovery after members of a youth wilderness therapy group found it earlier this month beneath a rock overhang in the Henry Mountains in Garfield County.

BLM staffers then recovered the bowl.

Craig Harmon, an archaeologist of the BLM’s Richfield field office said he has never seen a discovery like this in his life in his 34 years in the field.

The bowl is seven inches in diameter and 3.5 inches deep, while it also features geometric patterns adorned in black paint.

Harmon says he has contacted the Ute, Paiute, Zuni, Hopi and Navajo tribes in an effort to find the bowl’s rightful owners.

Harmon further stated final disposition of the artifact’s rightful place will be granted after conferring with the tribes on the subject.

BLM officials said finding the bowl was difficult as it was situated in an area rife with steep slopes and the artifact required “delicate extraction.”

(SALT LAKE CITY)-Monday morning, Utah lawmakers are expected to sit down for the monumental task of redrafting the state’s legislative and congressional districts.

This happens only once per decade while at this time, they will draw sufficient room for a new congressional fourth district as a result of the last U.S. Census count netting Utah another seat in the House of Representatives.

Earlier this month, a rally occurred at the Capitol in hopes of encouraging lawmakers to draw lines fairly.

Ten years ago, the Wall Street Journal said Utah’s redistricting was a “classic case of gerrymandering.”

Salt Lake City Democratic Senator Ben McAdams says this time around, the easily accessible Census data will let citizens form their own opinions concerning where lines should be drawn.

Utahns will be able to participate in this process like never before due to new mapping software which will soon be available on the state’s Web site.

There will be 15 members of the Utah legislature comprising the redistricting committee.

Members from the House are Logan Republican Curt Webb, Republican Gage Froerer of Huntsville, Centervile Republican Roger Barrus, Democrat Jackie Biskupski of Salt Lake City, Sandy Republican Todd Kiser, Republican Merlynn Newbold of South Jordan, Coalville Republican Mel Brown, Republican Francis Gibson of Spanish Fork, Democrat Christine Watkins of Price and St. George Republican Don Ipson.

Members from the Senate on the committee are Monroe Republican Ralph Okerlund, Democrat Gene Davis of Salt Lake City, McAdams, Ogden Republican Stuart Reid and Republican Kevin Van Tassell of Vernal.

(SALT LAKE CITY)-The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is awarding two Utah tribes $1.5 million.

HUD reports the money will be used by the tribes to improve housing and economic opportunities in their communities.

The Northwestern band of the Shoshones of Brigham City will obtain $600,000 while the Paiute band in Cedar City will receive $900,000.

HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan says the money helps Native American leaders improve living and economic conditions for people residing on their lands.

Grant money may also be used to restore housing, develop commercial centers or expand medical facilities while it can also be used for improvements to infrastructure, including sewer or water facilities and roads.

These grants are distributed through the Indian Community Development Block Grant program.

(MAYFIELD) – Several Moroni motorists were taken to the hospital Thursday afternoon after a rollover on SR-137 west of Mayfield. A Utah Highway Patrol said that 54-year old Ricardo Montano was traveling on Christianburg Road in a 1996 Ford Contour, when he failed to stop at the junction of the highway at SR-137 and went down an embankment. UHP said Montano rolled his vehicle on its top. He was not wearing his seatbelt and was transported to the Gunnison Valley Hospital with injuries. His passengers, 21-year old Jose Montano, 22-year old Magdalena Conserga and Marselina Magana, all of Moroni, were also not seatbelted and taken to the hospital with injuries. UHP Troopers said Montano was traveling too fast for conditions.

(ST. GEORGE) – A St. George businessman has been sentenced to a year in jail and 10 years probation in a ponzi scheme that is believed to be the largest case of financial fraud in the state. The Spectrum of St. George reported that Judge A. Lynn Payne sentenced William Hammons on seven of nine criminal charges stemming from bilking 180 investors out of $180 million. Authorities said that Hammons was the lead recruiter for projects by Val Southwick of Ogden, who ran an estimated 150 companies under the name of VesCor. The firm filed for bankruptcy in 2007, leaving investors out of their money. Hammons was found guilty in February.

(JACKSON, Wyo.)-The bodies of two backcountry skiers missing for a week at Grand Teton National Park were found in the park Sunday.

Crews picked up avalanche beacon signals late Saturday in their search for 27-year-old Walker Pannell Kuhl of Salt Lake City and 31-year-old Gregory Seflick of Columbia Falls, Mont. of Columbia Falls, Mont.

Searchers recovered the mens’ bodies in a tent buried under 13 feet of snow Sunday morning, according to the National Park Service.

Kuhl and Seftick had skied into the Garnet Canyon on the east side of the Tetons April 16 with the intent to scale Grand Teton, the park’s highest peak.

Park officials said an avalanche off the north face of Nez Perce Peak buried their tent that night.

(ABIDJAN, Ivory Coat)-Saturday, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints announced that widespread violence and political unrest have forced the Salt Lake City-based Church to suspend missionary activities in the Ivory Coast.

The Church says all missionaries and members are safe, but the situation has been deemed “too dangerous” for missionary work to continue.

Many members have fled the country en route to refuge camps, but the situation is too precarious for missionary work, Church officials say.

All non-Ivorian missionaries, along with the mission president, have been removed from the country.

As of July 1, the Church News reports Zahui Dominique Dekaye will be named as the new president in Abidjan.

(EL PASO, Texas)-KDBC-TV, Channel 4 in El Paso, Texas reports with Easter just around the corner, Customs & Border Protection warns that Kinder Chocolate eggs are banned in the U.S.

Kinder Chocolate, a subsidiary of Alba, Italy-based Ferrero SpA, produces eggs that contain plastic toys inside and can create a choking hazard, especially for children 3 and younger.

Furthermore, they also violate the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission’s small parts regulation for children 3 and younger.

Last fiscal year, almost 25,000 Kinder eggs were seized at the border at various locations.

(BLANDING)-San Juan County’s wilderness bill negotiations, thought dead or dying last year when Utah Republicans removed former U.S. Senator Bob Bennett from office, are on track to yield a compromise this fall, a county lead negotiator said Thursday.

This single-county process, based on a deal in Washington County, was Bennett’s project and enjoyed the use of his staff.

However, former San Juan County Commissioner Lynn Stevens said the county is ensuing in talks with involving land users and wilderness advocates and features commitments from the state’s congressional delegation to back it.

Stevens said a bill could be ready for the Senate by September at a meeting of the Governor’s Balanced Resource Council, a statewide advisory group on which he serves.

Stevens singled out the Washington-based Wilderness Society as a “productive partner” in communicating with the county concerning which lands should be preserved and which ones should be allocated for further development.

Wilderness Society Utah Director, Julie Mack, who also serves on Governor Herbert’s council, agreed that the compromise is continual, although the county has not yet released any acreage proposals.

The Washington County deal took years to reach, with more politicking after the first draft of a bill reached Congress.

Pat Shea, a former U.S. Bureau of Land Management director now serving on the governor’s council, said he does not expect a bill to pass on the matter until after the 2012 election.

Negotiators are currently identifying lands that Utah’s School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration could swap with the BLM before designating new areas, Stevens said.

For instance, the State Institute of Trust Lands and Administration, or SITLA, holds a number of blocks in southern San Juan County, east of Glen Canyon National Recreational Area, that are “solid rock” and thus bereft of value for mining or grazing, Mack said.

However, she also believes these lands are good wilderness candidates and should be swapped.

(PROVO) – BYU officials say that basketball player Brandon Davies will be invited to return to school for the 2011-12 season if he meets certain conditions. Davies has withdrawn from BYU but plans to return to the school for the Cougar’s next season. BYU Spokesperson Carri Jenkins said Davies is working with the school’s dean of students and will be able to re-enroll by fall semester but will not be eligible to participate in the basketball team’s overseas trip this summer. Davies was suspended on March 1 for violating BYU’s honor code and was sidelined for the remainder of the season. He started 26 of 29 games for the Cougars, averaging 11.1 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 24.9 minutes per game in 2010-11. Without Davies, BYU advanced to the Sweet 16 for the first time in 30 years. Davies commented that it’s been hard for him emotionally but thanks to the love and support of many, he’ll be able to get through it and is looking forward to rejoin the team in the fall.

(SALT LAKE CITY)-The University of Utah has been honored by the Carnegie Foundation for its community service programs.

The Stanford, Calif.-based Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching awarded the school a Community Engagement designation this week for its outreach efforts in the community.

Schools are honored for programs that reach out to the community in areas such as reading, mathematics, arts programs, special needs, recreation and mentoring of children interested in science and technology.

The University of Utah has 125 courses offering community service, including the Youth Art Initiative, which provides children with opportunities to participate in art programs that have been eliminated from their public schools.

About 80 students at the U. are involved with the America Reads program which provides tutors to children in elementary schools in low-income communities.

(WASHINGTON)-Utah joined more than a dozen states Thursday in blasting one of the nation’s largest breweries for a new fruit-flavored malt liquor aimed at young people.

Top law enforcement officials throughout the country, including Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff, are calling upon San Antonio-based Pabst Brewing Co. to stop selling or reduce the amount of alcohol in Blast by Colt 45, which hit the market earlier this year.

The carbonated beverage comes in brightly decorated 23.5-ounce cans containing 12 percent alcohol by volume, about the same amount as four to five regular 12-ounce beers.

Shurtleff says it is “literally a binge in a can,” and says Pabst is irresponsible in marketing the product.

Blast cannot be sold in Utah grocery stores, due to a 2008 law which outlaws the state from selling flavored malted beverages, sometimes referred to as “alcopops.”

The Utah Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control does not stock Blast in state liquor stores, nor does it carry beverages from competitors such as Four Loko, marketed by Drink Four Brewing Co. of Chicago or Joose Beverage, marketed by Los Angeles-based United Brands.

In a letter drafted to Pabst, 16 attorneys general say Blast poses a “grave public safety threat,” partially because it is intended to be drank cold in one setting.

Furthermore, it comes in colorful 7-ounce bottles.

Pabst says the company’s advertising efforts for Blast are focused on responsible drinking and the alcohol content is clearly marked.

Pabst also says the target market for Blast is 21-29-year-old men and women although state officials believe its appearance inadvertently attracts underage drinkers.

In a letter written by Maryland attorney general Douglas F. Gansler, law enforcers also criticize Pabst for hiring rapper and hip-hop star Snoop Dogg as Blast’s celebrity “face,” contending he’s popular with the under-21 crowd.

Those who signed the letter were Arizona attorney general Tom Horne, California attorney general Kamala D. Harris, Connecticut attorney general George C. Jepsen, Guam attorney general Leonardo M. Rapadas, Idaho attorney general Lawrence Wasden, Illinois attorney general Lisa Madigan, Iowa attorney general Tom Miller, Kentucky attorney general Jack Conway, Maine attorney general William J. Schneider, Gansler, Massachusetts attorney general Martha Coakley, New Mexico attorney general Gary King, Ohio attorney general Mike DeWine, Oklahoma attorney general E. Scott Pruitt, Tennessee attorney general Robert E. Cooper Jr., Shurtleff and San Francisco city attorney Dennis J. Herrera.

(SALT LAKE CITY)-The worst oil spill in Salt Lake City history is still impacting residents in the area but substantial signs of restoration have become more apparent.

A hole in a pipeline supplied by Houston-based Chevron spilled 33,000 gallons of crude oil into Red Butte Creek June 12, 2010, and remained undetected until the following morning when it contaminated the creek and flew into the pond at nearby Liberty Park.

A segment of the Jordan River was also shut down to the public for several weeks as cleanup efforts continued.

Since that time, Chevron has spent more than $2 million to scoop up 10,000 cubic yards of contaminated sediment out of the pond, while restoring it.

Salt Lake City Public Utilities Director Jeff Niermayer worked closely with Chevron throughout the process while he says crews have replaced a concrete wall in the pond at Liberty Park and have reached the “home stretch.”

Chevron was initially supposed to complete this process by April 1 although wet weather slowed their progress.

Investigators concluded that a fierce summer storm blew a tree into an overhead power line, resulting in an electrical arc which burned a hole in the 10-inch diameter pipeline about the size of a quarter.

(PROVO)-As is a common tradition at Brigham Young University during commencement exercises, a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints’ Quorum of Twelve Apostles, Elder Richard G. Scott, spoke to graduates and their families Thursday at the Marriott Center.

Students from every U.S. state as well as 72 countries throughout the world were on hand to listen to Elder Scott’s remarks as the Apostle asserted the world is in “serious trouble.”

Nevertheless, in his typical positive demeanor, Elder Scott accentuated good characteristics of the world, such as faith, character and integrity, which can help the world get through dark times.

Elder Scott focused much of his address on character saying it is what God uses to mold individuals and that strong character is more essential than any worldly possession.

Ultimately, Elder Scott surmised his comments into 10 focal points: establishing a set of principles to guide every aspect of life, a commitment to remain true to standards of truth and virtue, loyalty, living in such a way that the Lord can guide you to where you should be, service to others, smiling, refusal to complain, always having a church assignment, going to the temple regularly and using Christ as a template for life.

Other speakers at the exercises included BYU Alumni Association President Chris Feinauer and graduate Paige Crosland Anderson.

College convocations were slated for Friday at the university at various locations throughout the campus.

Graduation numbers were significant at BYU in 2011 as there were 6,185 degrees granted with 53 percent of the graduates being males and females representing nearly 47 percent.

The oldest graduate was 73 years old.

(SALT LAKE CITY)-Utah Democratic Representative Jim Matheson says he is excited about expanding natural gas outlets in Utah.

Matheson is one of 157 bipartisan cosponsors of The Natural Gas Act, which he hopes will help attract Utah consumers to the gas pump.

Matheson stated natural gas is “cleaner and cheaper” than the alternative, and, more importantly, is a local fuel.

The act is seeking to assist in helping to break the reliance upon foreign oil while paving the way to a cleaner environment.

(ST. GEORGE)-Washington County officials want the federal government to allow uranium mining around the Grand Canyon.

According to the St. George Spectrum, the county’s commissioners say this won’t cause environmental damage while netting billions of dollars into the area’s economy.

Presently, the Bureau of Land Management is accepting comment on the matter through Wednesday May 4 on an environmental study of the proposed halt to mining in the region for the next 20 years.

This would affect about a million acres of land in Utah and Arizona.

Conservationists say mining would destroy regions around one of the world’s more distinctive natural wonders.

Mining industry representatives say this endeavor would have little impact on the environment.

(SALT LAKE CITY)-Utah legislative leaders are negotiating with Governor Gary Herbert in hopes of coming up with an alternative to a bill he vetoed instead of conducting an override session.

Both House and Senate leaders in the state believe an override session was all but certain concerning SB229, a bill earmarking some 30 percent of future state revenues for road projects.

However, it has proven difficult to find a day before the May 9 deadline to rule on the matter wherein a veto can be overridden when the two-thirds majority, which is required to overturn the governor’s action, can be present.

Thus, legislative leaders are currently talking with the governor about scaling back the size of the set aside in this bill, as well as other possible changes in a special session.

It is believed Herbert wants to avoid the chance of a veto override primarily since he faces another election next year and is already deemed politically weak by tea party leaders.

Herbert confirmed the earmark would mean less money for other budget needs, while hampering the state’s ability to deal with changing financial circumstances in a statement issued along with his four vetoes.

Thursday, Senate President Michael Waddoups of Taylorsville said there is only a “50-50 chance” an override session will occur so he is focusing on drafting a deal “everyone can agree to.”

Waddoups declined to discuss details of the negotiations but did say he spoke with Herbert on the matter during last week’s Salt Lake County GOP convention.

House Minority Assistant Whip, Salt Lake City Democrat Brian King, said since friction exists between the governor and lawmakers, this override session was seen as an opportunity to show everyone who’s in charge.

However, King also stated discussions about alternatives suggest GOP leaders aren’t necessarily confident the veto can be overridden.

(SANTAQUIN) – A former KSL news broadcaster was killed near Santaquin on I-15 in a car accident on Thursday. UHP said that 59-year old Gaylen Young was killed when the car in which he was riding, hit another vehicle in the northbound lanes. Young’s 16-year old son was driving and was injured but Gaylen was thrown from the vehicle as it rolled several times. The driver of the other vehicle, 41-year old Laura Christensen of South Jordan, suffered minor injuries. Gaylen Young worked at KSL as the Ogden Bureau reporter and anchored the noon newscasts in the late ‘70’s and early ‘80’s. He then worked in radio and TV for more than 30 years in Central and Southern California.

(SALT LAKE CITY)-Thursday, federal officials broke ground on a new FBI field office adjacent to Salt Lake City International Airport.

This $75 million building will replace current space the FBI leases in downtown Salt Lake City while this multi-story edifice will consist of 163,000 square feet and is slated for completion in the fall of 2012.

The U.S. General Services Administration has lauded this new structure as a “high-performing green building,” while it is anticipated this project will use construction materials containing at least 30 percent in recycled products.

Furthermore, materials extracted and manufactured within 500 miles of the site will also be used.

Construction is expected to create 500 jobs, most of which coming from the local community.

The Salt Lake FBI division covers Utah, Idaho and Montana and boasts 19 satellite offices in these states, employing roughly 160 people.

(GRAND TETON NATIONAL PARK, Wyo.)-As of late Thursday afternoon, the search for two missing backcountry skiers, one from Utah, was suspended at the Grand Teton National Park because of heavy snow and low visibility.

Last Saturday was the final time anyone saw 27-year-old Walker Pannell Kuhl of Salt Lake City and 31-year-old Gregory Seftick of Columbia Falls, Mont. when they were spotted heading into Garnet Canyon on the Tetons’ eastern side.

Crews used propitious weather conditions Wednesday to search for them but found no trace.

Their efforts are now focused on an avalanche debris field which is 250 feet wide, 300 yards long and 15 feet deep off of the north face of Nez Perce Peak.

Park spokeswoman Jackie Skaggs says this search will resume for a few more days once weather permits although she said the mens’ families are now preparing themselves for the possibility the pair did not survive.

Skaggs, who has 35 years of experience at the park, said she cannot recall a search effort being unsuccessful for so long.

She also says that notwithstanding the park’s rugged terrain, there are only several places where missing people are usually found.

Kuhl, a native of Kalispell, Mont., works for the U.S. Treasury Department at Salt Lake City while Monday his girlfriend alerted authorities he had not shown up to work, instigating the search.

Seftick, originally from Minnesota, left his position as an emergency physician at a West Virginia University hospital while his former boss at the university, Dr. Todd Crocco, said Seftick is passionate about mountaineering, skiing and ice climbing.

Crocco said Seftick was a residential doctor and typically went on these types of expeditions.

GUNNISON, Utah (AP)-Ty Bartholomew and Tyler Harris tripled and Brogan Neal and Jarrett White each doubled as the Gunnison Bulldogs doubled up the Rowland Hall/St. Mark’s Winged Lions, 12-6 Thursday in non-region baseball action.

(SALT LAKE CITY)-After 20 years as the head coach of the Salt Lake Community College mens’ basketball program, Norm Parrish is literally moving up the hill to a position with the University of Utah’s program.

New Utes head coach Larry Krystkowiak announced Parrish has been hired to serve on his staff Monday.

Furthermore, www.utahutes.com says he will officially be the director of basketball operations at the program.

This is Parrish’s second stint at the U. as previously he was an assistant to the late Lynn Archibald during the 1988-89 season.

Krystkowiak said Parrish will be involved in “several key areas” of the program while he led the Bruins to the 2009 NJCAA national championship.

The Utes now have a full slate of assistants as Parrish will be joined by Tommy Connor, previously at Westminster, DeMarlo Slocum, formerly at Colorado State and Andy Hill, who served under Krystkowiak at Montana.

Parrish matriculated at Viewmont High School in Bountiful where he excelled at numerous sports and later went on to play college basketball at what was then called Ricks College in Rexburg, Idaho as well as Northwest Nazarene University in Nampa, Idaho.

Additionally, former Ute wing Shawn Glover has received permission to explore transfer options outside of teams in the PAC-12 and beyond the state of Utah while the program received a letter-of-intent from Kareem Storey, a 6’0” 190-pound point guard from at Princeton Day Academy of Lanham, Md.

(TUCSON, Ariz.)-KVOA-TV, Channel 4 in Tucson, Ariz. reports Border Patrol agents working in the western Arizona desert have made four arrests and seized 585 pounds of marijuana in two separate incidents.

Agents patrolling near Nogales, Ariz. observed three suspected illegal immigrants early Tuesday via a mobile surveillance system.

Agents, along with a helicopter unit, responded and discovered three men while seizing a handgun.

The Border Patrol says agents later learned the men were transporting marijuana and eventually seized 119 pounds.

Another suspected drug smuggler was arrested Tuesday afternoon near Amado, Ariz. when agents discovered 466 pounds of marijuana and a stolen pistol inside the jeep of an illegal immigrant.

Authorities say the suspects face federal drug charges while the seized narcotics are valued at more than $290,000.

(COLORADO CITY, Ariz.)-The Salt Lake Tribune reports a wife in a polygamous sect in communities on the Utah-Arizona border alleges a bishop in the sect ordered her to be evicted from her home after proclaiming support for a rival leader, court documents attest.

In a protective order, 26-year-old Ruth Steed wrote she was called before Lyle Jeffs, the bishop of the twin border towns of Hildale, Utah and Colorado City, Ariz. and the brother of sect leader Warren S. Jeffs.

Steed, is married to potential sect presidential candidate, 41-year-old William E. Jessop, who is seeking to wrest control of the organization from the presently jailed Warren Jeffs.

Moccasin (Ariz.) Justice Court Judge Mitchell Kalaui granted Steed a protective order Monday against 61-year-old Alan Jeffs, who allegedly removed things from her home.

The order has yet to be served and Alan Jeffs did not immediately return calls for comment.

This eviction led to Jessop’s arrest last week while Thursday, Steed received a call asking her to immediately move out of her home on the 100 North block of Oak Street in Colorado City.

When Jessop arrived to help her, he was arrested for trespassing, Steed wrote.

Steed then went to court the following day in hopes of obtaining an injunction allowing her to stay.

Jessop filed papers last month to take over the sect’s Corporation of the President from the 55-year-old Warren Jeffs who remains detained in a San Angelo, Texas jail as he awaits trial on sexual assault and bigamy charges related to allege underage marriages.

Leaders who are loyal to Warren Jeffs are fighting this claim and the power struggle is likely headed for the courtroom.

This incident comes at an ominous time for the sect as leaders are currently contending for legal control of the communal property trust which holds nearly all the homes and land in Hildale and Colorado City.

(SALT LAKE CITY)-The Salt Lake Tribune reports a Salt Lake City man indicted in federal court for allegedly using his Facebook page to threaten to kill members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and education officials must undergo a mental evaluation, a federal judge has ordered.

U.S. District Judge Clark Waddoups made the determination that 36-year-old Mark Eric Bayne must be evaluated by a professional after hearing arguments from attorneys on Tuesday who suggested the man has a mental condition which does not allow him to meaningfully participate in his defense.

Waddoups said he would consider Bayne’s competency after the evaluation.

Bayne was indicted in December on three counts of felony threats in interstate commerce.

Reportedly, Bayne used his Facebook page to post a status update on November 26 which referred to Mormons as “the worst form of humanity” and made threats to take “at least 30 of their women and children” at the cost of each man every day, court documents attest.

The message ensues by labeling “primary targets” whose identities have been redacted by court documents.

Bayne has also sent emails to federal, state and private institutions, including colleges, who have expressed deep anger and used vulgarity to demean recipients and the institutions they represent, court documents state.

In the emails, he vowed to carry out violence against those he believed had “wronged him,” court documents further state.

Bayne accessed Facebook and his email at Salt Lake Community College, according to court documents, and also posted a video depicting footage of a man who shot a firearm during a Florida public school board meeting.

Bayne also sent emails to the U.S. Department of Education, expressing frustration about graduate school and saying he might carry out a mass shooting comparable to the February 2007 rampage at Trolley Square which left five people dead and four others wounded.

Tim Vitale, a Utah State University spokesman, confirmed Bayne was a student at the Logan-based university who graduated in May 2010 with an undergraduate degree.

The threats-in-interstate-commerce charge against Bayne applies because Bayne reportedly used the Internet and email to make threats, which could possibly interfere with interstate and foreign commerce, court documents assert.

Bayne is currently being detained in the Davis County Jail under the custody of U.S. marshals.

(RICHFIELD) – Gov. Gary Herbert paid a visit to Richfield today to sign six bills into law. Herbert commented that the three Senate bills, sponsored by State Senator Ralph Okerlund of Monroe and three House bills, sponsored by Rep. Kay McIff of Richfield, are vital to the growth and protection of rural Utah. Herbert noted that in a conversation with Steve Forbes, of Forbes Magazine, Utah was named the #1 state in the nation for fiscal prudence and is listed as the best state for quality of life. The governor said he wanted to come to Richfield to show the public that not all the work is done along the Wasatch Front. Rep. Kay McIff’s House bills, included the dedication of public highways, the protection of indigents in defense cases and the timely manner in death penalty cases. Sen. Okerlund’s bills, included the protection of our local translator system, rural fasttrack for economic development and land management plans for multiple access. Okerlund said he worked with legislators over a dozen Senate bills and at least that many more from the House.

(SALT LAKE CITY)-An energy company owned by the Ute Indian tribe announced an agreement Wednesday to expand oil drilling in the Uintah Basin.

The Rocky Point Exploration and Development Agreement will allow Fort Duchesne and Denver-based Ute Energy and its partner, Newfield Exploration Corp. of Houston to explore, develop and market oil and gas from an additional 19,000 acres on the Uintah and Ouray reservation located in northeastern Utah, a Ute Energy press release stated.

The acquisition complements 26,300 acres of Ute tribal lands, alloted lands and fee lands previously acquired while providing up to 132 additional drilling locations based on 40-acre spacing.

Ute Energy plans to drill 54 wells in 2011.

(LOGAN)-Utah State University Police reported a recent USU graduate stole more than $7,000 worth of textbooks and subsequently sold them back to the university bookstore.

USU Police Sergeant Jessica Elder told KTVX-TV, Channel 4 in Salt Lake City 24-year-old Landon Putnam shoplifted more than 40 books from the USU bookstore last fall and then returned them for cash refunds during a 5-day period at book-buy-back kiosks in December.

Elder said the value of the books was approximately $7,000 but Putnam received more than $3,000 in cash refunds totaling more than $9,000 in theft.

Tuesday, Putnam was arrested in Logan following an investigation while Elder said the extreme amount of money collected from some of the same book titles altered bookstore personnel.

Putnam was booked into the Cache County Jail on suspicion of second-degree felony theft and third-degree felony theft by deception.

(AUSTIN, Texas)-U.S. Representative Lamar Smith of Texas, who heads the U.S. House Judiciary Committee, has accused the Justice Department of being “hypocritical” for not pursuing legal action against a Utah law approving a guest worker program for illegal immigrants.

Monday, in a letter Smith sent to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, the Utah Compact is unconstitutional while he called the department’s inaction a “stark contrast” to the federal government’s lawsuit against Arizona’s SB1070, which “merely compliments and assists in the enforcement of federal immigration law.”

While the Utah Compact would not take effect for at least two more years, which state officials say was done to avert a lawsuit, the state is seeking a federal waiver.

In his letter, Smith said if the Obama Administration is serious about having a uniform immigration policy, rather than a “patchwork” of state immigration laws which the government has professed to oppose, the Administration needs to take action against the Utah Compact.

Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff says the state really doesn’t want to have a showdown with the federal government, including members of the Justice Department.

Shurtleff believes Smith’s letter is not only false, it’s blatantly political.

Utah’s guest worker program was part of an immigration reform package signed into law March 15 by Governor Gary Herbert and the package includes an enforcement measure modeled on Arizona’s law that goes into effect this May.

(SALT LAKE CITY)-Drawing upon perpetual frustration with the federal government, a Salt Lake City man has come out of nowhere as an apparently trusted voice on conservative issues throughout the country.

Despite a considerable amount of detractors as well, Dan Baltes has vaulted himself into the national political conversation.

Baltes, the executive director of Americans Against Immigration Amnesty, interjected himself into the high-profile illegal immigration debate in Arizona, advocating for the ouster of Pima County (Ariz.) Sheriff Clarence W. Dupnik.

He has also been on Glenn Beck’s television show on FOX News as part of the conservative talk show host’s 8/28 Restoring Honor rally last summer.

However, some of his fellow conservatives have deduced he isn’t what he purports to be.

Lori Gillespie, who lives in the Allegheny Mountains near Pittsburgh, says he has a magnetism to him which entices conservatives but isn’t really what he appears to be.

Throughout the nation, many conservative leaders have renounced him and he has even stung his fellow Utahns in certain instances.

Last summer, a Weber County couple paid Baltes $850 for a bus trip he organized to Beck’s 8/28 rally in Washington last August.

They were unable to go and say he promised a refund, but they never received one.

Furthermore, Franklin, Tenn.-based Premiere Speakers Bureau confirmed it had a contract for Baltes, whose real name is Daniel Arthur Elliott, for Beck to appear in Las Vegas, San Diego and Phoenix, but severed it, due to nonperformance.

Baltes failed to make an $125,000 payment by March 16.

Baltes says he finds all of this speculation, rumor and innuendo about him “disconcerting,” while shortly after an interview with the Deseret News, he emailed his supporters an apology for the Beck show which includes descriptions of an ugly childhood, troubled past marriages and mental health struggles, while also stating he hopes Beck can see it.

(SALT LAKE CITY)-Only a handful of lobbyists reported spending any money on lawmakers during the 2011 Legislature despite hosting caucus lunches, receptions and other events.

This is because under the ethics reforms passed a year ago, House and Senate leaders are able to approve such expenditures, and even exempt the events from having to be disclosed.

Representative Carl Wimmer of Herriman said these exemptions need to stop.

Wimmer was a guest at one of the few meals listed in the first quarter lobbyist disclosure forms filed last week, a nearly $774 dinner for 11 lawmakers and three of their family members last February.

The dinner was for members of the Legislature’s conservative Patrick Henry caucus, occurring at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building and featuring a guest speaker from the Goldwater Institute, which promotes free enterprise and liberty.

Lobbyist Jodi Hart picked up the tab and said she did not seek approval for the dinner from House Speaker Becky Lockhart of Provo.

Hart reported other lawmakers attending the dinner were GOP Representatives Francis Gibson of Mapleton, Ryan Wilcox of Ogden, Keith Grover of Provo, Brad Daw of Orem, Curt Oda of Clearfield, Merlynn Newbold of South Jordan, Kenneth Sumsion of American Fork, Bill Wright of Holden and Eric Hutchings of Kearns.

Hart, whose long client list includes Atlanta-based Delta Airlines, Rocky Mountain Power of Portland, Ore., and the Utah Bankers Association of Salt Lake City, said the dinner was hosted on behalf of the lobbying firm she and Rob Jolley serve as partners in, RRJ Consulting of Holladay.

Hart said the dinner, which was the only item listed on her quarterly disclosure statement on file with the lieutenant governor’s office, was one of six events she paid for last season and among the most expensive.

The other events were all approved and thus did not have to be disclosed while Hart acknowledged the disclosure laws, supposedly tightened by the 2010 Legislature to limit gifts, could be better.

Senate President Michael Waddoups of Taylorsville said there is no reason to change what lobbyists have to disclose.

Waddoups said he turned down requests from individual senators who wanted to accept meals from lobbyists without disclosure last session.

Kim Burningham, the leader of Utahns for Ethical Government that sponsored an initiative petition drive seeking sweeping ethics reform said he would go further.

(SALT LAKE CITY)-In a little-known chapter of our country’s civil rights movement, nonviolent activists boarded buses en route to New Orleans to simply challenge the segregationists’ control of bus travel.

Over the course of six months in 1961, the volunteers endured mob violence with local police often resulting to intervene and imprisonment, rather than forsake their ideals.

To commemorate the 50-year anniversary of this bellwether moment in U.S. history as well as to promote a PBS documentary on the matter, 40 college students throughout the nation, including a University of Utah student, will be given the opportunity to react this journey while the U. student will document her experiences.

Esther Kim, who is slated to graduate in 2012, will represent the U. in a group PBS organizers have christened the Student Freedom Riders while the organization ensured numerous nationalities were represented.

Kim, who is Asian, will join a multicultural group comprised of Chinese, Haitian and Tajik students, among others.

The documentary, done by commissioned filmmaker Stanley Nelson, is entitled “Freedom Riders,” and will be broadcast by PBS’ 348 member stations across the country, including KUED-Channel 7 in Salt Lake City May 16.

The depiction of the bus tour is intended to instigate “cross-generational” dialogue concerning the role of civic engagement, Nelson said.

This expenses-paid “moving classroom” will begin its journey at a public event May 6 in Washington while traveling through seven southern states.

The trip will end May 15 in New Orleans and visit such historically pertinent sites as the Montgomery, Ala. church which a mob threatened to burn down while Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and others were inside.

The event coincides with an anniversary reunion of the original riders.

Boston-based PBS affiliate WGBH publicist/project manager Lauren Prestileo said students were chosen partly based on social media and community involvement as well as on the content of required personal essays they wrote.

PBS organizers believe the full cost entails $1 million and is the largest event in the history of American Experience, an anthology series broadcast on the service.

This campaign includes an exhibit traveling to 20 cities, nationwide public screenings, high school curriculum materials, including training for 650 teachers, and a Web site featuring 12 other short films by Nelson.

Following this national telecast, KUED will air the locally-produced “Utah’s Freedom Riders,” a profile of the state’s early civil rights workers and “Navigating Freedom: A Utah Youth Perspective,” which features eight personal films of high school students who discuss what freedom means to them.

(WEST JORDAN)-A West Jordan High School student was arrested following a bomb hoax that had the school on lockdown for the majority of Monday morning’s classes.

A 17-year-old student was arrested on charges of investigation of manufacture, possession or use of a hoax weapon of mass destruction, threat of terrorism, making a false alarm, obstruction of justice and writing a false statement, West Jordan police confirmed.

Authorities said they believed the incident was an intentional disruption to the scheduled school day.

A student found a notebook with a note attached, suggesting there was a bomb inside around 7:30 a.m. MDT Monday and reported it to authorities.

The school was subsequently placed on lockdown and students were taken to a gymnasium while a bomb squad investigated the situation.

When the backpack was detonated, officials ruled there were no explosive components inside.

Students returned to classes around 11:00 a.m.

The student was booked into the Salt Lake Valley Detention Center where as of late Wednesday, he remained in custody.

(CEDAR CITY) – The Dixie National Forest has approved $835,000 in funding for dozens of projects in five southern Utah counties. The projects include $57,450 for trail signing improvements and maintenance, $55,000 for plague abatement and translocation of Utah prairie dogs and $340,000 for road improvement projects, along with several other projects in the Dixie National Forest. The projects were recommended by the Dixie Resource Advisory Committee (RAC) as part of their responsibility to coordinate with land management agencies and county officials. The projects are located in Garfield, Iron, Kane, Washington and Wayne Counties. The RAC will also hold their next meeting at the Paiute Tribe of Utah Headquarters in Cedar City on June 29 at 9am.

(FT. GREEN) – Eight girls from the North Sanpete High School will compete for the title of Miss Lamb Day in Ft. Green this Friday night. The eight young women include, Cali Anderson, Chelsey Peckham, Macaylee Sampson, Kaitlyn Barnes, Valerie Beck, Paola Hiltbrunn, Vitorria Hiltbrunn and Jessica McCallister. The theme for the pageant is, “Just the Way You Are” and will be held at the Ft. Green Elementary School gym. Directors are Kathy Taylor and Robyn Cox.

(ST. GEORGE)-The Bureau of Land Management will host a wild horse and burro adoption Friday and Saturday April 29 and 30 at the Dixie Sun Bowl in St. George.

The adoption will feature 40 impeccably-colored wild horses ranging between one and four years old from Utah’s Conger Herd Management Area.

There will also be several halter-started wild horses from the Gunnison-based Central Utah Correctional Facility.

Admission is free and the public is invited to attend.

Chad Hunter, the BLM’s Color Country District Office’s Wild Horse specialist says the horses are approximately 14-15 hands in size while the mares are estimated to weigh 750-800 pounds with stallions checking in at 850-900 pounds.

Gates open Friday the 29th from 8:00 a.m.-7:00 p.m. and Saturday the 30th from 8:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m.

All horses are available for $125 on a first-come first-serve basis and all qualified adopters may Adopt-A-Buddy for $25 with the adoption of a full-fee horse.

To receive a faxed or mailed copy of the application, a brochure, or other information, please call the Delta Wild Horse and Burro Facility at 864-4068.

For additional information, Hunter is available for contact at 865-3088 or by writing the Bureau of Land Management, 176 E. DL Sargent Drive, Cedar City, Utah 846721

(WASHINGTON)-The Salt Lake Tribune reports six Utahns associated with climate activists and convicted energy lease auction impostor Tim DeChristopher were among 30 arrested in and around the U.S. Capitol in recent days for disrupting government activities, including House floor debate.

DeChristopher was not among the faction arrested, but he and 12 other members of Salt Lake City’s climate-action group Peaceful Uprising are in Washington for a “Power Shift” clean-energy conference.

DeChristopher spoke to activists at the conference, saying the climate change movement has compromised too much, according to the group’s co-director Flora Bernard.

Last Friday, Utahns Deb Henry and Steven Liptay were among nine arrested for taking turns singing in protest from the U.S. House Gallery, disrupting a budget debate for about 20 minutes.

As of Monday, Cori Redstone, Joan Gregory, Jacob Hanson and Krista Bowers were among 21 arrested during a sit-in at the U.S. Department of the Interior lobby.

Bernard said the lawful march, organized by the Energy Action Coalition, involved more than 1,000 people protesting outside the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, a British Petroleum office and other energy-production interests.

Nevertheless, Utah State University political scientist Michael Lyons said these actions are likely counterproductive to the activists’ cause of getting Americans to support policies while battling climate change.

Lyons furthermore asserted it would be in the protesters’ best interests to instead stick to the science which transcends ideological contention.

On the day of the arrests in the gallery, the House approved a budget compromise that would cut funding for the Environmental Protection Agency.

The previous day, the Republican-controlled House has passed a bill which stripped the EPA of its powers to regulate greenhouse gases, a proposal that has stalled in the Democratically-controlled Senate.

Friday, Capitol police removed the 29-year-old Henry and other protesters to their office, detaining them for several hours.

Meanwhile, DeChristopher faces sentencing June 23 while an attorney on his defense team, Pat Shea, declined to say whether his continuing defiance might affect his sentence.

(SALT LAKE CITY)-The Salt Lake Tribune reports the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints reiterated its support of the Utah Compact late Tuesday while again describing the Legislature’s bills about immigration reform as a “responsible approach.”

Earlier this month in Arizona, Phoenix-based LDS lawyer Daryl Williams publicly critiqued Arizona’s SB1070, proposed and promoted by Mesa, Ariz. Senator Russell Pearce, who is also LDS, saying it didn’t conform to important Mormon principles of compassion.

In Utah, delegates at several Republican county conventions, who are overwhelmingly LDS, have called for overturning portions of Utah’s immigration reform package.

Also on Tuesday, former U.S. foreign service officer, Ron Mortensen posted a pointed history of the Salt Lake City-based Church’s behind-the-scenes involvement on immigration reform.

For years, the Church has stated their neutrality on illegal immigration, Mortensen said, while simultaneously supporting the development and passage of an “omnibus immigration bill” that included a Utah specific guest-worker/amnesty provision for illegal aliens living and working in the state.

Mortensen, who says he is opposed to any kind of amnesty for illegal immigrants, claimed that many LDS legislators personally opposed the legislation but felt compelled to support it due to their allegiance and deference to Church authorities.

Mortensen closed his statements by asserting the Church is moving away from justice, or strict law enforcement, and delving into mercy, or compassion, on this matter.

(CHEYENNE, Wyo.)-A proposed project would potentially double the number of gas wells that have been drilled to date in western Wyoming’s biggest gas fields.

Encana Oil & Gas USA of Denver proposes to drill as many as 3,500 gas wells on 220 square miles of currently undrilled land in the Upper Green River Basin and would occur over a span of 10 years.

Heavy drilling since the 1990s has resulted in 1,500 wells in the Jonah Field as well as 1,400 more in the neighboring Pinedale Anticline field, which are among the most productive U.S. gas fields.

Thousands of more wells may yet be drilled in the Jonah and Anticline fields, but over time Encana’s proposed Normally Pressured Lance project could rival either for well numbers.

Encana spokesman Randy Teeuwen said this is a big deal that will give benefits back to Wyoming in a statement Friday.

The new drilling south and west of Jonah would create more than 700 drilling jobs and 175 production jobs while bringing in an estimated $8.75 billion in taxes and royalties over 30 years, Teeuwen said.

Environmentalist Linda Baker of the Pinedale, Wyo.-based Upper Green River Alliance says she wants to see how Encana limits air pollution, which she believes became a serious issue with high ozone levels in the basin this past winter and protects wildlife such as antelope and sage grouse.

Encana has invited Baker to serve on and advisory committee for the development while she confirmed she has accepted the offer.

Tuesday, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management opened a monthlong period for the public to comment on the project, the start of what will likely be a long environmental review process.

The BLM says its next step will be to draft an environmental impact statement for the project.

Encana, which has its corporate headquarters in Calgary, Alberta, said it plans to use the most up-to-date drilling techniques to keep environmental damage to a minimum, Teeuwen said.

Teeuwen implied this would include drilling up to 16 wells per well pad, with no more than four pads per square mile.

Pipelines would be installed from the start to collect gas condensate and produced water, gas production byproducts that otherwise would require significant truck traffic to haul out, Teeuwen said.

Encana expects to begin drilling in the Normally Produced Lance in a few years and will ramp up operations as drilling in the Jonah tapers off.

(GRANTSVILLE)-Tuesday evening, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in the Grantsville area met to fill sandbags in preparation for expected flooding in the next few weeks in Grantsville, as well as Tooele and Salt Lake counties.

More than 50 volunteers showed up to contribute, including men, women and children.

The group met around 7:00 p.m. MDT to begin the process and within an hour, the task was completed, particularly with the assistance of a local farmer who shared his tractor for use of the project.

(DENVER)-A new report released Tuesday says the fossil fuel industry’s longest-lasting economic impact is from tax revenues, not jobs, and recommends maximizing those revenues by raising rates.

The report by Bozeman, Mont.-based Headwaters Economics says government data show the industry accounted for less than 3 percent of total employment in Colorado, Montana, New Mexico and Utah in 2008.

The figure was about 8.5 percent in Wyoming, the report asserted.

The study acknowledges seasonal workers might have been missed, along with workers improperly categorized in other industries.

A 2009 trade group study puts the percentages much higher.

As for tax policies, Doug Flanders of the Colorado Oil and Gas Association says stable taxes as well as “sensible regulation” are needed to attract industry investments.

Headwaters Economics says it is funded by various donors as well as federal agencies, such as the U.S. Forest Service.

(RICHFIELD)-Last Saturday during a car show on the Snow College Richfield campus, the family of the late Sevier County Sheriff’s Office Sergeant Franco Aguilar received a restored Chevy Impala, which was Aguilar’s dream car.

Aguilar, who was killed on duty nearly a year ago and a father of five children, was in the process of restoring the car before he died and his friends finished the job for him.

After a funeral Mass at a local Catholic church, Franco’s friends launched an extensive renovation process on the Impala which entailed body work, painting, the installation of a donated rebuilt engine and an overhauled transmission and anything else that needed to be done.

Finishing touches are still being made to the car, but Aguilar’s wife, Jamie, says the dream has turned out just how her late husband would have wanted it to.

(SALT LAKE CITY) – The Utah Department of Agriculture and Food are saying that farmers in the state are about three weeks behind in planting due to muddy fields from heavy rain and snow. Utah is considered as the second driest state in the nation and farmers have mixed reactions with the bad weather. Farmers are also facing damaging frost with temperatures dipping below 30 degrees. UDAF Spokesman, Larry Lewis said Box Elder County is developing mold due to heavy snow still on the ground. He said too much water is not good and too little water is also not good. The biggest fallout currently from all the moisture is simply a delay in getting crops to market. Lewis said some farmers are experimenting with different varieties of corn as a result. Some varieties are 90-day to maturity rather than 120 days.

(ST. GEORGE)-Earlier this month, a woman seeking to rent a home in St. George discovered a scam upon further introspection of the property she sought and the man who was renting it.

Among the facts she deduced was he is not actually the landlord and has no connections to Utah.

The home in question, located on South River Road, was listed for rent on www.craigslist.org and when the woman emailed the alleged owner for more details, a person calling himself “James White” sent a friendly response.

White asked for a security deposit of $1,000 along with a monthly rent of $1,000, saying the home accommodating and in a nice neighborhood.

White said that his wife advised against selling it and decided to rent it out to a “good and God-fearing family.”

The woman asked her mother to drive by the home to check it out and upon her search, it was discovered the home was in a “55 and older” community with a “for sale” sign out front.

When the woman questioned White about this in the email, he was “evasive” and replied that he would have the real estate agent take care of the sign.

“White” also said the woman could stay in the house as long as she wanted to and she just needed to pay rent when it was due.

The woman also decided to call the real estate agent’s number on the “for sale” sign and then discovered James White did not own the house.

Instead, it belonged to Rich Potter a St. George-based real estate broker.

Potter was selling his own home and has since closed on the sale, revealing “White” was obviously trying to scam the woman out of $2,000.

Potter said the scammer cut and pasted the sales details from Potter’s listing right onto craigslist, saying “White’s” rendition matched Potter’s word for word.

Potter subsequently contacted police in New York, where “White” reportedly lives and offered a warning to anyone looking to rent a home, saying if something looks too good to be true and they’re giving property away, it’s obvious a scam is underway.

(PROVO)-Orem Republican Representative Bradley Daw is seeking to devise a bill he hopes will shut a loophole which allowed a convicted sex offender facing multiple charges to go free without a trial.

In 2007, 38-year-old Lonnie Hyrum Johnson was convicted for rape of a child in Washington state and also faces a litany of charges in Utah, which include two dozen rape, sodomy and aggravated sexual assault of a child charges for alleged acts with his stepdaughter and her cousin over a span of five years, as of 2001.

Since Johnson has a cognitive disorder, he has been housed at the Utah State Hospital in Provo where psychiatric evaluators deduced he is not a substantial danger to himself or society.

As of April 7, a judge determined Johnson was not only incompetent, he can never be returned to competency and subsequently released him.

The current law, which Daw is seeking to tweak, says someone can be held in the state hospital if the person is “mentally incompetent” to stand trial and is at “serious risk” to cause “serious bodily injury” to themselves or others.

Daw wants to modify the law so that sexual assault of a child constitutes “reasonable and sufficient grounds” to detain someone in a state hospital.

Daw hopes for the law proposal to be integrated into the 2012 Utah Legislative session.

In the interim, a competency hearing is slated for November 17.

(SALT LAKE CITY)-While delivering an address at a Tuesday renewable energy conference at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City, Utah Governor Gary Herbert said developing affordable and stable energy resources is among the state’s competitive advantages in the marketplace.

Herbert, who has long advocated for Utahns to utilize their natural resources to resuscitate this languishing economy, also said the state enjoys the fourth lowest cost for energy generation in the nation.

This event primarily focused upon increasing awareness of renewable energy’s benefits for businesses, consumers and families.

Last month, Herbert revealed a 10-year strategic energy plan which combines use of the state’s abundant natural resources, including coal, along with increased development of alternative and renewable fuels, such as wind, solar and geothermal energy while also contemplating a nuclear power component.

This 42-page report also stressed that accomplishing the state’s energy goals would require the thoughtful development of resources, impact on potential economic development, the natural environment and human health, while also taking physical and regulatory constraints into consideration.

The conference, organized by the Utah Solar Energy Association and the Utah Technology Council also consisted of legal panels, demonstrations and information sessions which discussed various ideas concerning renewable energy development.

Some local companies were also on hand to display products, such as geothermal heating and cooling systems.

Utah Solar Energy Association Executive Director Levi Belnap says such initiatives have already enhanced renewable energy resources statewide.

(SALT LAKE CITY) – Leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints noted that the Church has printed its 150-millionth copy of the Book of Mormon. Church officials say that a month into its 181st anniversary, the Book of Mormon has surpassed the milestone. Officially titled, “The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Christ,” is accepted by the LDS Church’s 14-million members worldwide, as scripture, along with the Holy Bible, the Doctrine and Covenants and the Pearl of Great Price. From its first printing in March of 1830, Church founder, Joseph Smith, oversaw the process, performed by Egbert B. Grandin, in his printing and sales shop. The Book of Mormon is now available in 82 languages and partially translated in another 25 languages. The book is distributed free by the Church’s 52,000 missionaries worldwide as well as online at the Church’s website.

(SPRINGDALE) – Zion National Park Rangers are searching for two missing hikers in the park. Rangers say that 25-year old Evgenia Bruzulukova of Roy and 28-year old Jonathon Wilson of Portland, OR., had a backcountry permit for a one-day trip through Russell Gulch and the Left Fork of North Creek last Saturday. The area is located near the Kolob Terrace Road in the park about 15 miles north Virgin. The pair were last seen Saturday morning at the head of Russell Gulch. Park rangers began the search for the two on Sunday, after the couple’s vehicle was discovered at the Left Fork of North Creek Trailhead. The trip involves several hundred foot rappels and swims through the creek. Park rangers say streams in the area are currently running very high and are cold due to runoff from snowmelt. Currently, there are 25 park rangers, employees and volunteers involved in the search effort with support assistance, including a helicopter, dog teams and multiple ground search teams.

(CEDAR CITY)-Earlier this month, high achieving high school students throughout southern Utah were honored during the Southwest Utah Sterling Scholar Awards competition at Southern Utah University.

The event occurred April 7 and these students competed in 15 categories for cash awards and scholarship opportunities.

A winner and two runners-up in each of the 15 categories were given a sterling silver pin or charm, along with a cash prize.

They were judged in such categories as scholarship, leadership, community service and citizenship.

In agricultural science, the winner was Angie Yardley of Beaver High School, while runners-up were Brandy Holm of Cedar High and Tanner K. Ence of Dixie High.

In business and marketing, the winner was Jennings Leavitt of Snow Canyon High, while runners-up included Trichille Armstrong of Panguitch High and Jessica Dickison of Cedar High.

In computer technology, Desert Hills High’s Christopher Bradshaw was the winner and runners-up included Gregory Kendall Wilkey of Pine View High and Kalin Hofheins of Beaver High.

In dance, the winner was Canyon View High’s Demi Eastman and runners-up included Lacey Wilkerson of Cedar High and Natalie McAneney of Parowan High.

In English, Bryn Curry of Cedar High was the winner and runners-up included Lane Sorensen of Valley High and Kathryn Anne Koeven of Pine View High.

In Family & Consumer Science, the winner was Abigail Larsen of Cedar High and runners-up included Sarah Nicole McComb of Desert Hills High and Caprice Christensen of Enterprise High.

The Foreign Language winner was Stephanie Rimmasch of Pine View High while runners-up were Katrien Jack of Desert Hills High and Tina Yakovich of Cedar High.

Winning the general scholarship was Eric Nakken of Cedar High while runners-up were Judah Evangelista of Kanab High and Peter Joseph Fuller of Snow Canyon High.

In mathematics, Desert Hills High’s Kyler Frank Brinkerhoff was the winner and runners-up were Rachel Elaine Thompson of Pine View High and Kathryn Petersen of Cedar High.

In music, Megumi Gass of Pine View High was the winner, while the runners-up were Taylor Armstrong of Kanab High and Callen Mae Crenshaw of Snow Canyon High.

The science winner was Hunter Schone of Pine View High and runners-up were Kaitlyn Friese of Cedar High and Marcus Chase Halterman of Parowan High.

In speech and drama, the winner was Natalie Spangler of Tuacahn High while runners-up included Andrew Justvig of Desert Hills High and Kendra Stahl of Parowan High.

In social science, the top honor went to Beaver High’s Rebecca April Kanell while runners-up were Regina Grogan of Snow Canyon High and Clarissa Fackrell of Cedar High.

In trade and technical education, the winner was Matthew Anderson of Pine View High and runners-up were Devin Carpenter of Cedar High and Lance Maxwell of Valley High.

Finally, in visual arts, the winner was Krishel Smith of Snow Canyon High and runners-up were Deborah Hutchins of Pine View High and Kara Stewart of Cedar High.

Mid-Utah Radio/Television congratulates all Sterling scholar winners on this accomplishment.

(SALT LAKE CITY)-While the University of Utah is in the last stages of its preparation to move to the newly formed Pacific 12 athletic conference this June, a member of the state Senate is advocating that they not completely leave behind their Utah cohorts.

Logan Senator Lyle Hillyard, an avid Utah State Aggies fan is asking for the Legislature to mandate that state-funded colleges and universities play at least three games a year against other Utah schools.

If they don’t, under Hillyard’s request, they would be levied with a fine.

Hillyard had previously asked legislative attorneys to draft a bill to enact the mandate, but dropped it because time was running out in the 2011 session.

Hillyard’s proposal, if successful, would essentially guarantee the rivalry between the University of Utah and Utah State University continues, notwithstanding comments made by former U. mens’ basketball coach Jim Boylen that he didn’t want the Utes to play the Aggies any longer.

Hillyard has asked the Legislature’s Education Interim Committee to study the issue, and may bring it back when the Legislature convenes again in early 2012.

Hillyard said the impression came to him when he was at a USU-Utah Valley University game earlier this year and saw all of the seats packed when the U. had numerous empty seats while hosting an out of state opponent.

Hillyard also said a game against Brigham Young University would count for one of the state school’s three matchups, but because BYU is not a publicly-funded university, it would not be bound by the law.

USU athletic director Scott Barnes believes Hillyard’s idea has “real merit,” and is critical in fostering “healthy in-state rivalries,” which are often lost as intercollegiate athletic conferences throughout the country experience major paradigm shifts.

U. athletic director Chris Hill says he discussed the issue briefly with Hillyard during the session, saying he wants a “thorough discussion” before any such legislation is implemented.

(WASHINGTON)-The Salt Lake Tribune reports potential presidential candidate Donald Trump says he is a better businessman than present leading GOP hopeful in 2012 Mitt Romney in statements me made Monday.

Trump told CNN’s State of the Union he has much “bigger net worth” than Romney.

Trump says Romney is primarily a “small business guy” while Trump said he has “created thousands of jobs and built a great company.”

Romney, a former venture capitalist, has a strong track record of turning around failing companies.

While at the head of Boston-based Bain Capital, he helped launch the STAPLES office supply chain, of Framingham, Mass. while also buying Ann Arbor, Mich.-based Domino’s Pizza.

In the 2008 presidential race, Romney invested more than $40 million of his own money.

(SALT LAKE CITY)-Monday, the Utah State Board of Education approved two new charter schools slated to open in 2012.

American Fork will receive its second charter school, Aristotle Academy, while Hurricane has obtained its first charter school, Valley Academy.

Aristotle Academy will operate from the old Harrington School building on Church Street in downtown American Fork and instruct 540 children from kindergarten through 8th grade, a press release stated.

The school’s focus will be on decreasing the gap between “low achieving and high achieving” students by using mentor teachers as well as year-round remediation and enrichment activities.

The school will attempt to appeal specifically to low-income students, but will also accept applications from all interested students.

Valley Academy is expected to have an enrollment of 450 students spanning kindergarten through 7th grade.

(EPHRAIM) – Gov. Gary Herbert will visit Snow College in Ephraim this Thursday to address students, faculty and the public during Convocation. Herbert’s address will begin at 12:30pm in the Eccles Center for Performing Arts. Prior to his address, Herbert will hold a meet-and-greet reception in the lobby at 11:30am. Snow staff say that each year, a wide variety of speakers and entertainers are invited to speak at the Snow College convocations body. This year, Gov. Herbert will serve as the concluding speaker. Gov. Herbert took the oath of office in August 2009, previously serving as the state’s lieutenant governor to former governor, Jon Huntsman, Jr. Herbert is a lifelong Utahn. He and his wife, Jeanette, have six children and 13 grandchildren.

(SALT LAKE CITY)-In a statement released late Monday, the Utah Department of Transportation has advised motorists to be careful while driving on Utah highways due to flood waters in select areas.

The following areas are under advisory for drivers: S.R. 66 near Porterville in Morgan County, S.R. 167, particularly on the Trapper’s Loop Highway, U.S. 89 and S.R. 39 in Cache County and the Monte Cristo Highway near Huntsville.

(JACKSON, Wyo.)-Searchers at Grand Teton National Park are currently looking for two skiers who went camping in a canyon where avalanches have been occurring.

Sunday, the men were supposed to return after climbing in the Tetons, although one of the men didn’t show up for work Monday and was reported as missing.

Teams began searching by ground Tuesday after a Monday evening helicopter search.

The search, first reported by the Jackson Hole (Wyo.) News and Guide, focused its efforts on Garnet Canyon, a rugged areas on the east side of Middle Teton.

Searchers saw signs of avalanches at the head of the canyon.

Park spokeswoman Jackie Skaggs says rangers found two cars belonging to the men at a trailhead and believes the men are from Utah and Montana and both have experience with the park’s backcountry.

(LOGAN)-Flood warnings throughout northern Utah are keeping residents who liver near waterways on their toes while the most significant problems struck in Morgan and Cache counties Monday.

Monday afternoon, the National Weather Service first issued a flood warning for western Morgan County, where already several creeks have jumped their banks and were posing “minor” flooding issues.

Residents in Morgan, as well as the rest of the county, decided to become proactive Monday, blocking any potential problems before they start.

At the Morgan County Fairgrounds, dozens of volunteers, some of which coming from as far away as Enterprise, worked to fill hundreds of sandbags which were then loaded into pickup trucks and taken to some of the worst problem areas in the county.

Meanwhile, in Cache County, Logan crews were out in full force Monday to minimize any damage from flooding that may occur, as a consequence of the Logan and Blacksmith Fork rivers cresting their banks.

Logan is dipping into a stockpile of 70,000 sandbags ready to go while another 3,000 are filled on pallets, ready for delivery if needed.

Logan Mayor Randy Watts says in the event that evacuation is necessary, residents will be alerted via a message sent out over a public communications system to affected areas.

The city is also coordinating with the local Red Cross chapter should emergency shelter be needed.

Logan is also working with local ham radio operators as well as the Cache County Emergency Response Team to identify staging locations for sandbagging and evacuation areas.

Flood dangers are also imminent near the Weber and Ogden rivers as well as select areas of Davis and Salt Lake counties.

(SALT LAKE CITY)-Utah lawmakers will conduct a rare override session, perhaps as soon as April 25, to consider reversing Governor Gary Herbert’s recent vetoes on four bills.

The bills Herbert rejected during the 2011 Legislative session include a veto he made which would have ended the state’s Monday through Thursday workweek.

House and Senate leaders both think the bill most likely to be overridden deals with earmarking some 30 percent of new tax revenues to pay for transportation projects.

Monday, Senate President Michael Waddoups of Taylorsville said that SB229 is seen by lawmakers as a way to ensure the state has sufficient infrastructure to encourage economic development.

House Speaker, Becky Lockhart of Provo, said the gas tax revenue has not been enough to provide reliable revenue for maintenance as well as economic development stemming from a commitment to transportation.

Herbert said last month when he vetoed the bill in late March that would mean less money for other state needs, including economic development, the state’s ability to respond to financial difficulties would have been stifled had the bill passed.

Herbert also vetoed H.B.328, which would have put the state back on a five-day workweek, SB294, which would have altered health insurance plans and costs and SB305, which would have utilized a Web-based tool to align schools with the needs of the business community.

A poll of lawmakers showed the required two-thirds of the House and Senate wanted an override session, although Waddoups said that doesn’t mean any of the governor’s actions will be overturned.

Lawmakers will be able to contemplate upon all four of the bills vetoed by the governor during the override session while they are being asked to choose between meeting on April 25 or May 2, for what would be the first veto override session since April 2004.

Michael Burbank, a political science professor at the University of Utah said this special session could potentially be a messy ordeal, saying in most instances, governors try to avoid these types of meetings.

(SALT LAKE CITY)-While many religionists consider this week to be sacred in commemoration of Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection, Utah’s Jewish community is preparing for Passover which commemorates the exodus from bondage in Egypt in biblical times.

Monday evening, Rabbi Benny Zippel of the Chabad Lubavitch of Utah Community Center, a Judaism center in the state, while he and his family searched their home for bread, rolls, cakes or anything else made with leavening, which causes dough to rise, so they could burn it in commemoration of the sacred celebration.

After the burning, the celebration began, featuring songs and dances which remind them of renewing their commitment to Jehovah.

At sundown, which commemorates a new day in Judaism, special Passover services begin, after which the congregation moves from the synagogue to the social hall for the first evening’s dinner, which is known as a Seder.

This contains ceremonial food and has a special plate for each food.

The participants eat bitter herbs, reminding them of their ancestors’ Egyptian servitude, along with vegetables, meat or fish and unleavened matzo, a cracker-like unleavened bread made of white plain flour and water.

They also drink wine at certain stages of the feast and Jewish children ask certain questions, concerning why Passover is different from other nights of the year.

Passover lasts for seven days in Israel, while expatriate Jews commemorate the feast for eight days, including in Utah.

(SALT LAKE CITY)-Monday, Salt Lake City-based genetree.com, a genealogical research Web site announced a new series of specialty DNA tests that aid in identifying a broader account of an individual’s family history.

These new tests provide more targeted genetic information, allowing users to explore more specific answers to previously puzzling genealogical issues.

He said the new tests include extending the Y chromosome haplotype, which provides additional markers that can be used to clarify shared paternal ancestry as well as the X chromosome, which traces pathways for both the maternal and paternal lines and can prove instrumental in addressing specific relationship questions.

The autosomal STR test can provide genealogical information going back five generations while the Y chromosome SNP test provides an exact assignment to specific ethnic groups or geographical locations.

Pricing for tests ranges from $150 up to $450, depending on how many people are tested and what types of tests need to be performed to answer specific genealogical questions.

Genetree.com is wholly owned subsidiary of the nonprofit Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation, also of Salt Lake City while over the past decade, the organization has created the world’s largest repository of correlated genetic and genealogical information, while compiling a database of more than 100,000 DNA samples representing more than 170 countries.

(SALT LAKE CITY)-While Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff is undergoing chemotherapy to treat his colon cancer, select family members have shaved their heads to show their support through this difficult time.

Shurtleff’s sons, Heath and Tommy Shurtleff and his son-in-law, Nat Gardner shaved their heads Sunday in the attorney general’s Salt Lake City backyard.

Despite having to submit to chemotherapy treatments, Shurtleff has done his best to maintain his regular schedule and has a busy week ahead of him, including an appearance at a local Passover Seder, a radio interview and a meeting with newly elected Republican Senator, Aaron Osmond of South Jordan.

GUNNISON, Utah (AP)-Jantz Jensen had the game-winning RBI and Chase Christenson and Jarrett White each doubled as the Gunnison Bulldogs edged the Grand Red Devils, 3-2 Monday in Region 15 baseball action.

(FILLMORE) – Millard County Commissioners have scheduled a public hearing on Tuesday at 10am to gain comment on salaries and wages for part-time employees. Commissioners will discuss a resolution to amend the County Step-and-Grade Policy regarding salaries for part-time and seasonal employees. The discussion will also include salary changes for elected officials and their chief deputies. The public is invited to attend and offer comment on the amendment at the regular commission meeting to be held at the Millard County Courthouse at 50 South Main in Fillmore.

(SALINA) – The Sevier County Sheriff’s Department is conducting an active shooter training at the North Sevier High School in Salina on Tuesday. Sheriff Nate Curtis says the training is significant to monitor response time between officers and the public. Curtis said a lot of police officers and patrol vehicles, along with ambulances will be on hand in the Salina area. He said officers will have “live” ammunition as part of security in observation of the training. Curtis said one of the biggest problems the sheriff’s office has with the public is communication and he hopes those problems can be resolved with the training.

(MT. PLEASANT) – Over 150 boy scouts and their leaders representing 18 Troops spent the weekend in competitions at the Sanpete District Spring Camporee for scout troops. Scout officials said the theme for the Camporee was Pioneering and featured competition in two-man log saw, building a tripod using lashing skills, first aid, tying five basic knots and hitches and tying a clove hitch around a barrel. Troop 636 sponsored by the Manti LDS 6th Ward won First Place in the Main Competition, followed by Troop 1643 sponsored by the Mt. Pleasant LDS 6th Ward for the Camp Judging Competition. In the A-Frame race, First Place honors went to Cedar Creek Troop and Troop 507 of the Mt. Pleasant LDS 3rd Ward.

(PHOENIX)-KPHO-TV, Channel 5 in Phoenix reports a newly released Chandler, Ariz. police report paints a troubling picture of what Maricopa County (Ariz.) supervisor Fulton Brock knew about his wife’s sexual involvement with a teenage boy and when he knew it.

The report depicts a handwritten note, discovered by police, is believed to have questions by Brock for his defense attorney.

The note reads that Brock’s wife, Susan, is advocating for mentally insane defense while stressing her goal to avoid prison time.

The report also details an October 2009 meeting between Susan Brock and leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, of which the Brocks are members, along with the boy in question and his parents who had previously confronted Susan about sexual relations she had with their son.

In this meeting, both Susan Brock and the boy reportedly denied wrongdoing.

The police report later asserted Susan Brock had admitted she had performed oral sex on the boy at least two times to her bishop.

Arizona law gives religious leaders a special privilege in regard to reporting crimes as a clergy member may withhold reporting on the confession of a particular crime by a member of the sect should the authority deem it to be “reasonable and necessary” within the concepts of that religion.

Last Saturday, LDS Church spokeswoman Kim Farah responded by saying the Church is “extremely proactive” in its efforts to protect children from any type of abuse and diligently works to support and assist abuse victims.

Farah also defended the bishop by saying any allegation Church leaders knew of the abuse but did nothing is both inaccurate and offensive.

(COLORADO CITY, Ariz.)-The Salt Lake Tribune reports a Colorado man seeking to replace polygamous sect leader Warren S. Jeffs as president of their organization was cited for trespassing last week at a Colorado City, Ariz. address.

On April 14, police ticketed the 41-year-old William Edson Jessop for trespassing at 160 N. Oak Street, according to records filed with the Colorado City Consolidated Court in Moccasin, Ariz.

The ticket does not specify what is at the address or what Jessop did to warrant this citation.

On March 28, Jessop filed paperwork to take legal control of the sect’s corporate entity while the petition, filed with the Utah Department of Commerce, asked that he be allowed to take over as president.

Calls left with the Colorado City Police Department Friday seeking more information on the citations were not immediately returned.

(RICHFIELD) – Some Richfield residents are concerned with the additional expense the city must pay to plant flowers each year in the planter boxes on Main Street. Richfield Mayor Brad Ramsay said the city is looking for ways to cut expenses by planting more perennials. Ramsay said the flower plantings were included in the contractor’s bid for this year and will be reviewed in five years. The contractor’s bid was $30,000 a year for five years for care and maintenance of the city’s grounds with $10,000 more for planting flowers in the Main Street pots. Some residents were concerned with the additional costs when sales tax revenues are down 1-2% this year.

(MOAB) – A federally-funded Southern Utah program is hoping to train young workers for possible outdoor careers. The non-profit Canyon Country Youth Corps, part of Pres. Obama’s “America’s Great Outdoors Initiative”, is helping young adults work on BLM land, from pounding fence posts to studying the desert ecosystem. The work is generally a two-month tour, where young adults earn about $290 per week with room and board and transportation paid. The room is most likely a tent. Crew members can also earn education grants if they work long enough, starting with $1,000 at 300 hours. Job-seeker demand has been higher since the 2008 recession but the program relies heavily on federal funds. Officials say it would take $900 million to fill the Land and Water Conservation Fund but the fund only received $38 million this year.

(Manti) A new Miss Manti was crowned over the weekend. Seven young women competed for the crown and the scholarship. Audrie Naylor was selected as the winner, with Marissa Hedelius as first attendant and Deanna Mickelson as second attendant. Mikaela Lindhardt was also selected as miss congeniality. All seven young women worked on a joint service project to encourage residents to shop at Manti businesses, with each presenting a plan in the form of their pageant platform. Kate Murdoch was chosen as the project winner for her platform titled The MVP Club.

MANTI, Utah (AP)-Tauni McFarlane homered and amassed nine strikeouts as the Manti Lady Templars bested Class 5A’s Hunter Wolverines, 8-2 Saturday in non-region softball action. Additionally, Abby Hatch had two doubles and Ashley Soper also doubled in the win for Manti.

DELTA, Utah (AP)-Ryan Peterson amassed three hits and Kyle Church went the distance on the mound as the Delta Rabbits downed the Emery Spartans, 2-0 Friday in Region 12 baseball action.

MANTI, Utah (AP)-Preston Prisbrey tripled while Brady Ramone, Colin Haymond, Colton Hamilton, Keith Bowles and Koty Miller each doubled as the Manti Templars stymied the Juab Wasps, 12-3 in Region 12 baseball action Friday. Chase Street doubled in the loss for Juab.

FILLMORE, Utah (AP)-Parker Laub had two doubles and the Enterprise Wolves surged past the Millard Eagles, 11-9 in eight innings Friday in Region 13 baseball action. Josh Rasmussen had two doubles in the loss for Millard while Eric Alcala and Gordon Findlay each doubled in defeat for the Eagles.

BEAVER, Utah (AP)-Alex Whitbeck homered and doubled for the Beaver Beavers in an 11-1 rout of the Kanab Cowboys in Region 13 baseball action Friday. Sam Myers, Seth Myers and Sloan Parkinson also doubled in the win for Beaver.

CEDAR CITY, Utah (AP)-Jace Abbott scored the game’s sole goal and Brady Payne earned the shutout as the Delta Rabbits held off the Canyon View Falcons, 1-0 in non-region soccer action Friday.

MANTI, Utah (AP)-Takeesha McFarlane homered and doubled as the Manti Lady Templars waxed the Juab Lady Wasps, 12-1 Friday in Region 12 softball action.

MT. PLEASANT, Utah (AP)-Tiffany Syddall netted three doubles while Emily Pikuavit and Jessica Lewis came through with key hits as the Richfield Lady Wildcats stonewalled the North Sanpete Lady Hawks, 13-8 in Region 12 softball action Friday. Anna Ledingham and Shantel Ison each doubled in the loss for North Sanpete.

FILLMORE, Utah (AP)-Kelsey Lee pitched a two-hit shutout as the Enterprise Lady Wolves blanked the Millard Lady Eagles, 1-0 Friday in Region 13 softball action. Brooke Rhodes doubled in the loss for Millard.

BEAVER, Utah (AP)-Jessie Johnson tripled and Whitni Johnson stepped up with a double as the Kanab Cowgirls overpowered the Beaver Lady Beavers, 11-5 in Region 13 softball action Friday.

(NEW YORK, NY.) – A St. George banker and another Utah man were among eleven people arrested in a huge Internet poker scheme. John Campos, vice-chairman of the board and part-owner of SunFirst Bank, along with Chad Elie, were both charged with bank fraud and illegal gambling in a prosecution of the three largest Internet poker companies. According to a federal indictment, Campos allegedly agreed to process gambling transactions in return for a $10-million investment in SunFirst by Elie and an associate, which would give them a more than 30% ownership stake in the bank. Campos also received a $20,000 “bonus” for his assistance, according to the indictment. Federal prosecutors in Manhattan said today (Friday), they’ve issued restraining orders against more than 75 bank accounts used by the poker companies, interrupting the illegal flow of billions of dollars. A prosecutor said PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker and Absolute Power created an elaborate scheme that included fooling banks and bribing officials at a few to keep money flowing. The indictment seeks $3 billion in money laundering penalties and forfeiture from the defendants.

(SALT LAKE CITY) – The National Park Service is offering free admission to all national parks between April 16-24. The free entrance is part of National Park Week. NPS Director Jonathan Jarvis says the parks are not only places to go on vacation but for millions of Americans, national parks are also a daily part of a healthy lifestyle. He said a visit to a park can help to meet your fitness goals. The fee waiver applies to entrance fees only and does not affect fees for camping, tunnel traffic control or backcountry permits.

(KAYENTA, Ariz.)-KOLD-TV, Channel 13 in Tucson, Ariz. reports the U.S. Environmental Agency says a Navajo community is forging a path for sustainable development by adopting a green building code.

The EPA says the Kayenta Township is the first tribal community in the country to do so.

The International Green Construction Code is aimed at reducing the environmental impact of construction projects.

A vocational school will be the first project using the building code and is slated for completion in September.

Kayenta officials adopted the code with the protection conservation and agricultural areas in mind.

This community, located near Monument Valley, houses about 5,000 residents.

(GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK, Ariz.)-The National Park Service has announced it will begin showing an interpretive/orientation film at the newly constructed theater located at the Grand Canyon National Park’s Visitors Center at the park’s South Rim as of next Monday, April 18.

The film, titled “Grand Canyon: A Journey of Wonder,” takes visitors on a virtual trip throughout the park, introducing tourists to telling stories concerning Native Americans’ connections to the canyon, the area’s pioneer history, the Colorado River, the park’s geology and much more.

The film is produced and directed by Joshua Colover of Aperture Films Limited of Newport Beach, Calif., who began this process in the spring of 2008 with initial filming occurring in the spring of 2009 while the process will be continued through four seasons.

The film is narrated by renowned actor Peter Coyote, who has previously narrated such anthology series as filmmaker Ken Burns’ The West for PBS and Full-Color Football for the NFL Network.

The film will be shown on the hour and half hour during the hours the Grand Canyon Visitors’ Center is open and will be distributed through the Grand Canyon Association and available for purchase at sales outlets throughout the park and online beginning in May.

(SALT LAKE CITY)-The Salt Lake Tribune reports advocates for the elderly and low-income residents in Utah see Republican plans for cutting Medicare and Medicaid costs as unfair, while the decision could result in the loss of billions of dollars in the state.

The proposal, released last week by House Budget Chairman, Republican Representative Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, would repeal key provisions in the year-old Affordable Care Act, privatize Medicare and cut $1 trillion from Medicare funding for states.

The states would get set amounts, which would cap spending rather than adjusting it for changing needs and new enrollees.

Congress is expected to vote on the proposal Friday.

The plan could translate to a $554 million cut in federal Medicaid supports to the Beehive State, say officials with the Utah Health Policy Project, who used reports by the Congressional Budget Office and the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities for their own state-level study.

Republicans say these cuts are essential to reducing the national deficit while President Barack Obama’s deficit speech Wednesday sounded like a repudiation of the proposal, his address concerned such matters as caring for the elderly and poor.

The prospect of higher health costs, coupled with reduced Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements has doctors on edge, especially since they already have aged and disabled patients who cannot cover existing treatment costs.

(SALT LAKE CITY)-Thursday, a federal judge threatened to dispatch federal marshals to ensure a district court judge appeared in his courtroom, a court motion states.

This threat is the latest shift in events involving an ongoing battle between state and federal courts concerning the management of a trust fund involving a polygamous sect situated in southern Utah.

Third District Judge Denise Lindberg called U.S. District Judge Dee Benson’s recent ruling on the matter an “immediate crisis,” and has turned to the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals for assistance.

Friday, Benson ordered Lindberg to appear in his federal courtroom for an order to show cause hearing on Friday.

When Lindberg’s attorney informed Benson the judge planned to attend the funeral of her uncle in Arizona and would not be available, the attorney said Benson suggested dispatching federal marshals to force the state judge’s attendance.

Late Thursday, court officials confirmed Lindberg went to the funeral as planned and Benson rescheduled the order to show cause hearing for Monday.

Lindberg is asking the 10th Circuit of Court Appeals to issue a stay of an injunction Benson issued last week.

The injunction requires the Church’s assets to be returned to sect leadership while preventing any further sale of assets within the United Effort Plan Trust.

This trust holds most of the property and homes in the twin sect communities of Hildale, Utah and Colorado City, Ariz., while the courts initially took it over in 2005 over allegations of mismanagement by sect leaders.

(BEAVER)-A man who shot a Panguitch Lake operator, leaving him paralyzed, will stay in prison for at least another 26 years.

The Utah Board of Pardons and Paroles set an August 2037 rehearing for the 28-year-old Jason Hines earlier this week.

In 2008, Hines pleaded guilty to attempted murder, saying he heard voices telling him to shoot Terry Armstrong.

Hines, who is currently incarcerated at the Gunnison Prison, struggled at his first parole hearing last month to explain the shooting.

He thought Armstrong was going “to hurt his nephew,” and explained that was why he shot him.

Hines was on vacation with his family on August 3, 2007 when he stopped at a Cedar City gas station and smoked marijuana.

His girlfriend told police Hines became emotional and started crying as they began their trip to Panguitch Lake.

At the lake, Hines’ father entered Armstrong’s office at the lake to inquire about renting a cabin.

As he filled out paperwork, Hines took a gun from his car, pointed it at Armstrong’s head and later walked into the office.

Hines shot Armstrong three times before his father pushed him outside after which Hines went into a nearby trailer and fired two shots through a shower where he believed Armstrong’s son was hiding.

As Armstrong laid on the ground, critically wounded, Hines taunted him, called himself “God” and said he needed to kill him.

Police say he then began wandering through the campground, shouting incessantly and tried to grab a child.

At the hearing, Hines said he knew of his mental problems, but was too “embarrassed” to seek treatment.

Also at the hearing, Armstrong says he believes Hines was “possessed by a devil,” at the time of the shooting and that as time passes, they continue to be ostracized by community members in Panguitch, where the family lives.

Thursday, Armstrong says he is “extremely pleased” there is no chance for Hines to be released in the near future.

(SALT LAKE CITY)-A woman who claims she was forced to have sex by her father, the leader of a transient religious organization who purported to be the Holy Ghost, is now trying to act like the event never happened.

Cynthia Dalton, who is now 21, recounted these events, which occurred in September 2005, during a preliminary hearing against her father, 44-year-old Terrill Dalton, Thursday.

Third District Judge William Barrett ordered him to stand trial on two counts of rape, a first-degree felony, after hearing testimony from both Terrill Dalton’s daughter and his “right-hand man,” 37-year-old Geody Harman.

At the time, both Terrill Dalton and Harman were leaders of a small religious group known as the Church of the Firstborn and the General Assembly of Heaven.

Regularly, Terrill Dalton referred to himself as the “Holy Ghost,” while Harman was often referred to as “God in the flesh.”

Ultimately, Cynthia Dalton said she had sex with Harman and shortly thereafter, her father told her she needed to repeat the process with him three times.

She said she did so because she was scared, didn’t know how to get out of the situation and desperately wanted the blessings promised to her.

Thursday, Harman also took the stand, while being charged with rape, a first-degree felony.

In exchange for this testimony, Harman will be allowed to plead guilty to a reduced count of unlawful sexual activity with a minor, a third-degree felony, and will be released from custody pending trial.

Harman said that while he was Terrill Dalton’s counselor, he was the one who received the “initial” impression that he should be intimate with Cynthia Dalton.

Reportedly, Terrill Dalton then told Harman to “go and pray” about the matter.

Terrill Dalton’s attorney, Rudy Bautista, said his client adamantly denies he ever had sex with his daughter and stated the matter ended when Harman approached him about the “impression” he had received.

Wednesday, Terrill Dalton’s sister, Linda Dalton, claims he raped her as well.

An arraignment has been scheduled for May 20.

RICHFIELD, Utah (AP)-Jordan Williams and Josh Henry each doubled as the Richfield Wildcats bested the North Sevier Wolves, 14-8 Thursday in non-region baseball action. Additionally, Brandon Waters, Austin Ashby and Kyler Torgerson each amassed key hits for Richfield in the win. Dillon Ortwein homered for the Wolves while Michael Hales tripled and Kade Larsen had two doubles in defeat for North Sevier.

DELTA, Utah (AP)-Bryan May posted two goals and Jace Johnson added another score as the Delta Rabbits blanked the Manti Templars, 3-0 in Region 12 soccer action Thursday. Brady Payne earned the shutout in victory for Delta.

RICHFIELD, Utah (AP)-Jaz Peppelaar and Riley Duncan each scored as the Richfield Wildcats doubled up the North Sanpete Hawks, 2-1 Thursday in Region 12 soccer action. Osbaldo Jimenez scored in defeat for the Hawks.

MOAB, Utah (AP)-Derek Hawks, Jake Colyar and Tyler Garcia each scored as the Grand Red Devils ousted the Beaver Beavers, 3-1 in 2A South soccer action Thursday. Tyler Roberts scored the sole goal in defeat for Beaver.

PAROWAN, Utah (AP)-Christian Avila, Diego Gonzalez and Isaias Ruiz each scored and the Gunnison Bulldogs held off the Parowan Rams, 3-2 Thursday in 2A South soccer action.

FILLMORE, Utah (AP)-Pancho Alcala had four goals and Jesse Rhodes added a hat trick as the Millard Eagles crushed the North Sevier Wolves, 12-2 in 2A South soccer action Thursday. Additionally, Jeremy Aleman and Trey Ashton each had two goals for the Eagles while Brian Araos added another goal for Millard. Joseph Porras and Landon Mickelsen each scored in the loss for the Wolves.

NEPHI, Utah (AP)-Makenna Sperry had two doubles while Jessica Barker and Sam Guillory had one double apiece as the Juab Lady Wasps surged past the Gunnison Bulldogs, 11-6 Thursday in non-region softball action. Morgan Overly homered in defeat for the Lady Bulldogs, while Sara Brown tripled and Whitney Hansen doubled in the loss for Gunnison.

PAROWAN, Utah (AP)-McKinsey Smith and Rickie Warr each homered for the Parowan Lady Rams in a 13-12 win over the North Sevier Lady Wolves in non-region softball action Thursday. Sadiee Bown doubled in defeat for North Sevier.

(PROVO) – The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is planning to construct a facility in Utah County to house 48 wards and four stakes. A sign at the corner of 900 East and 300 North in Provo is drawing attention to the new structure with questions as to how the Church can circulate that many wards and stakes in one building. The new 48-ward facility measures a whopping 53,000 square feet, triple the size of a typical three-ward meetinghouse. Church officials say the building will be a “dual-purpose” facility where upwards of 2,000 members can be accommodated at a stake conference at one time and a four-pod configuration to house leadership, clerk offices and interview rooms for four stakes. The building would mostly serve BYU students and young single adult LDS members. LDS officials say campus locations will still be used for regular Sunday worship but a 48-ward facility’s chapel can seat 500-plus. Construction is expected to start next month and the facility should be finished by summer of 2012.

(RICHFIELD) – The Sevier County Sheriff’s Office is participating with the Drug Enforcement Agency in the discard of expired prescription medications. Sheriff Nate Curtis said the department will join with the DEA on April 30th for National Take Back Day, where people who have old prescriptions, can drop them off at the sheriff’s office in a permanent container. Curtis said the sheriff’s office will then turn over the drops to the DEA to be destroyed. He said there are a few restrictions, including no liquids or sharps. If you have any questions, contact the sheriff’s department for more information.

(RICHFIELD) – Winners have been announced at the 39th Annual Sterling Scholars Awards Program held at the Sevier Valley Center in Richfield Wednesday night. Co-Directors, Neal and Marcia Bosshardt of Redmond, said Manti and Millard led the pack with four winners each, followed by Juab and Delta with two winners each and South Sevier, Piute and Wayne with one winner each. Winners included, Jacob Olsen of Manti for Agriculture Science, Alexis Dalton of Piute for Business and Marketing Education, Logan McPhail of Millard for Computer and Information Technology and the Dance winner went to Camille Blad of Millard. Other winners included, Lauren Jones of Juab for English and Literature, Kiarra Rhoades of Millard for Family and Consumer Sciences, Joshua Lake of Delta for Foreign Language and the General Scholarship winner going to Clayton Higginson of South Sevier. Rounding out the rest of the winners was Andrew Boylan of Manti for Mathematics, Kaylea Drake of Juab for Music, Calan Olsen of Manti for Science and Clare Barclay of Wayne for Social Science. Makinzie Hunter of Millard won for Speech and Drama and Chad Tolbert of Delta was the winner for Trade and Technical Education, as well as Stephen Malloy of Manti for Visual Arts. A total of 15 winners were announced, along with 30-runners-up. Athletic Director at Southern Utah University, Ken Beazer, served as Master of Ceremonies.

(CEDAR CITY) – Cedar City residents were shaken by a 2.7-magnitude earthquake just after midnight last night. Paul Robertson at the University of Utah Seismograph Station said the temblor struck at about 12:11am seven miles north-northeast of Cedar City. The quake was followed 30-minutes later by a 1.8-magnitude aftershock. Robertson said the quake was big enough to feel but not big enough to cause damage. He called the quake the largest around Cedar City this year, ahead of a magnitude 2.5 temblor on Jan. 2. In 2010, 69 earthquakes between magnitude 0.5 and 4.1 were recorded within 30 miles of Cedar City. Robertson said Utah averages a magnitude six earthquake about once every 15 to 20 years.

(RICHFIELD) – The federal government is requiring dozens of Sevier County residents to change their addresses due to new homeland security measures. During Tuesday night’s Richfield City council meeting, councilmember Mike Turner updated the council on proposed areas where residents will need to change their address. He said the Federal Communications Commission has integrated homeland security with new GPS systems. Turner commented that he’s had to pay up to $300 to change letterhead, stamps and other address changes at his business and Mayor Brad Ramsay said he’s had to change his address at least four times due to new measures. Both officials ended the discussion by saying that there may not be a way to fight the feds on the changes.

(MANTI) – Seven young women from Manti will be competing for the title of Miss Manti 2011 this Saturday night. The Miss Manti Pageant committee has announced the contestants include, Shaye Eddy, Melanie Mitsvotai, Mikala Lindhardt, Kate Murdoch, Deanna Mickelson, Audrie Naylor and Marissa Hedelius. Reigning Miss Manti, Rachel Mitsvotai, along with her father, Caleb, will emcee the event at the Manti High School auditorium at 7pm. The pageant will also include an appearance by recording artist, Sam Riddle. The seven women have been working on a joint service project where each contestant has created her own ideas to encourage residents to shop at Manti businesses.

(MONROE) – Monroe City officials tallied the results of a straw poll last night concerning constructing a wastewater project in the city. The poll indicated a 63% to 37% vote against resident’s connecting to the proposed system. At the special work session prior to the regular council meeting, City Clerk Emalie Curtis commented that only 50% of straw poll voters responded to the survey. Curtis said that had more residents responded, the final tally may have been quite different. The total tally showed 278 voted “NO” and 163 voted “YES” in the survey. Curtis said the city’s responsibility now is to send out letters to the funding agencies to put procedures on hold until the economy improves. Monroe City Mayor Kirt Nilsson said hookup to the proposed $16-million system would cost an average of $38 per month to a homeowner. The city may pursue funding for the system in the future.

(RICHFIELD) – Richfield Police caught a suspect Tuesday involved in five vehicle thefts in Richfield. According to Det. Trent Lloyd, 18-year old Eduardo Flores of Provo was staying with a friend in Richfield Monday night, when he left the home sometime during the night and broke into five unlocked vehicles in the 800 South area. Lloyd said the man stole a firearm, stereo, prescription pills and other items, then returned to his friend’s home. Police said the first call came in at about 10am Tuesday, along with a second call at 12:30pm. Flores was apprehended on two thefts and police found evidence that linked him to three other vehicle thefts. He was charged with theft of a firearm, prescription pills that didn’t belong to him and four other felony thefts. Flores is now in jail on $39,000 bail.

MANTI, Utah (AP)-Brady Ramone tripled and the Manti Templars surged past the Delta Rabbits, 7-4 Tuesday in Region 12 baseball action. Austin Albers and Zeb Nielson each doubled in the loss for Delta.

CASTLE DALE, Utah (AP)-Gage Bell homered and Nathan Mecham added a triple as the Emery Spartans hammered the North Sanpete Hawks, 21-0 in Region 12 baseball action Tuesday.

NEPHI, Utah (AP)-Jordan Williams belted a home run while Brandon Waters, Caden Lowry and Josh Henry each doubled as the Richfield Wildcats mowed over the Juab Wasps, 9-2 Tuesday in Region 12 baseball action. Kyson Warwood and Spencer McPhearson each doubled in defeat for Juab.

FILLMORE, Utah (AP)-Seth Myers homered while Bo Fotheringham and Colton Kreth each doubled as the Beaver Beavers pummeled the Millard Eagles, 9-1 in Region 13 baseball action Tuesday.

KANAB, Utah (AP)-Colby Warren went the distance on the mound and doubled as the Parowan Rams bludgeoned the Kanab Cowboys, 12-1 Tuesday in Region 13 baseball action. Rhett Bassett added a home run for the Rams while Brandon Jenson doubled in the loss for Kanab.

GUNNISON, Utah (AP)-Jarrett White doubled and Brogan Neal’s sacrifice fly brought home the winning run as the Gunnison Bulldogs ousted the North Sevier Wolves, 1-0 in eight innings in Region 15 baseball action Tuesday.

EPHRAIM, Utah (AP)-Carlo Garcia and Oscar Balderas each scored as the Manti Templars doubled up the Richfield Wildcats, 2-1 in Region 12 soccer action Tuesday. Riley Duncan scored in the loss for Richfield.

MOAB, Utah (AP)-Pancho Alcala amassed two goals as the Millard Eagles downed the Grand Red Devils, 2-1 Tuesday in 2A South soccer action.

SALINA, Utah (AP)-Ammon Elison, Caleb Jones and Nick Deryke each scored and the South Sevier Rams bested the North Sevier Wolves, 3-1 in 2A South soccer action Tuesday. Dillon Thurston had the sole goal in defeat for the Wolves.

DELTA, Utah (AP)-Austin Broadhead and Domey Espinoza each scored as the Wasatch Wasps stymied the Delta Rabbits, 2-0 Tuesday in non-region soccer action. Jace Abbott scored in the loss for Delta.

MANTI, Utah (AP)-Ashley Soper homered and Kamee Christensen, Miranda Stevens and Tauni McFarland each doubled as the Manti Lady Templars crushed the Delta Lady Rabbits, 12-0 in Region 12 softball action Tuesday.

CASTLE DALE, Utah (AP)-Alyssa Hall homered while Shantel Ison and Jennifer Nuttal doubled and tripled respectively to lead the North Sanpete Lady Hawks to a 12-10 win over the Emery Lady Spartans Tuesday in Region 12 softball action.

NEPHI, Utah (AP)-Tanisha Squire had two doubles as the Juab Lady Wasps outlasted the Richfield Lady Wildcats, 7-6 in Region 12 softball action Tuesday.

BEAVER, Utah (AP)-Sheryl Stephenson and Ashlie Dearden combined for three doubles and the Millard Lady Eagles went on a 16-0 run after spotting the Beaver Lady Beavers an early 3-0 lead in a 16-3 win in Region 13 softball action Tuesday.

(RICHFIELD) – New sidewalks will soon be extended along North Main Street in Richfield. At the city council meeting last night, the city council awarded the low bid to Anderson and Sons Construction to construct sidewalks along the Expressway Lube section and points north. The low bid was nearly $5,645. Also at the meeting, councilmembers approved the appointment of Mont Turner to replace Sue Southwick as a member of the City Planning Commission.

(WASHINGTON D.C.) – The Bureau of Land Management entered into an agreement today with Disabled Sports USA to promote public-private partnerships that encourage people with disabilities to use public lands. The Memorandum of Understanding creates a cooperative framework for programs and activities designed to increase the recreational use of public lands by disabled veterans and others with permanent disabilities. BLM Director Bob Abbey says the MOU will cultivate dialogue, generate ideas and enhance access for persons with disabilities, to gain the most out of outdoor activities.

(WASHINGTON D.C.) – Former Sen. Bob Bennett said Congress should vote to raise the debt ceiling. In a radio interview, Bennett said failing to raise the debt ceiling sends a message to the rest of the world that the U.S. is unable to meet its obligations. He said the debt ceiling is not a limit on future borrowing but a limit on current borrowing needed to meet current obligations. Bennett asserts it would set up a domino effect of bad economic news. Sen. Mike Lee was asked if their could be some compromise on raising the debt. He said huge cuts need to be made in spending for America to get back in the black. Lee commented that the U.S. has a $14.3 trillion debt.

(MONROE) – Monroe City officials will hold a special work session tonight to tally the results of a recent straw poll the city conducted concerning a wastewater project in the city. The poll is separate from an initiative referendum, being promoted by those opposed to the project. Initiative backers say they want to put the issue on the ballot in November in order for registered voters to vote for or against connections to the wastewater project. Monroe City’s work session will be held at 6:30pm prior to the regularly scheduled city council meeting at 7:30pm at the Monroe City Hall. The public is invited to attend.

(SALT LAKE CITY) – The Utah Department of Agriculture and Food is seeking proposals for the new federally-funded Specialty Crops Block Grant Program. Ag Spokesperson Larry Lewis says, once again, hundreds of thousands of dollars are available for the program. Lewis said specialty crops are defined as fruits and vegetables, dried fruits, horticulture and nursery crops, including floriculture. The grants stem from the U.S. Farm Bill, which authorizes the U.S. Department of Agriculture to partner with state departments of agriculture to enhance the competitiveness of specialty crop producers in areas such as marketing, promotion, education, research, trade and increasing child and adult nutrition knowledge and consumption of specialty crops. Individual producers, producer groups, organizations and associations, as well as state and local organizations, academia and other specialty crop stakeholders, are eligible to apply.

(SALT LAKE CITY) – Mitt Romney has announced that he’s forming an exploratory committee for a 2012 presidential run to the White House. This is Romney’s second attempt to gain the bid as he made the announcement from the University of New Hampshire campus on Monday. Romney keyed his address by saying that Pres. Obama’s policies have failed because he and his advisors have never worked in the private sector. Dressed casually in a plaid shirt, no tie and a dark jacket, Romney said he used the skills he’d learned in 25 years of business as governor of Massachusetts. He commented that he’s convinced that America has been put on a dangerous course by Washington politicians and it’s become even worse in the past two years. Romney said in spite of low economic conditions, America’s best days are still ahead. His short announcement ended with a plea for volunteers and financial donations. Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty has also announced an exploratory committee. Polls show that Romney is the top pick in Utah, over former Gov. Jon Huntsman, Jr.

(SALT LAKE CITY) – Tuesday marks the 50th anniversary of the first human spaceflight. Patrick Wiggins, Solar System Ambassador to Utah, says that it was on April 12, 1961, that former USSR’s Yuri Gagarin, took the first flight in space. Wiggins says in remembrance of that historic flight, it’s appropriate for stargazers to witness the flight of the International Space Station early Tuesday morning. Wiggins commented that the ISS will make its majestic pass over Utah at about 6:32am, then pass high overhead at about 6:37am and set in the southeast at about 6:41am. He said, weather permitting, the spectacular sight should be worth seeing and remembering.

(MT. PLEASANT) – A horse was killed on impact after a Chester woman slammed into the animal on SR-89 last Wednesday night. According to a UHP report, 18-year old Bradee Sunderland was traveling southbound in a 2007 Mazda 3-S, when she hit the horse on the road at about 11:30pm a mile south of Mt. Pleasant. UHP said Sunderland was wearing her seatbelt and was not injured in the accident.

(RICHFIELD) – Emergency Medical Services of Sevier County is in the process of adding a new ambulance to their line of equipment. EMS Director John Hunt said making a trip back to Columbus, OH. is worth it to get an ambulance that’s of the quality and superiority the county is looking for. Hunt said the price tag for the new ambulance is $139,000, which is a little higher than previous years’ costs, because the modern ambulances provide the necessary safety features for EMS personnel.

Samantha Laney was crowned the new Miss Fairview over the weekend. The new royalty also includes Rachael Howard as the first runner up, followed by Andraea Shelley as the second runner up and Haley Nuttal as Miss Congeniality.

CASTLE DALE, Utah (AP)-Johnny Dykster tripled and Kaden Kelson added a double as the Juab Wasps got past the Emery Spartans, 10-7 Friday in Region 12 baseball action.

RICHFIELD, Utah (AP)-Kyler Torgerson homered and doubled while Josh Henry added another double as the Richfield Wildcats outlasted the Manti Templars, 7-6 in eight innings Friday in Region 12 baseball action. Koty Miller doubled in defeat for Manti.

SALINA, Utah (AP)-Michael Hales and Dillon Ortwein each doubled and tripled and the North Sevier Wolves decimated the Monticello Buckaroos, 21-0 in Region 15 baseball action Friday.

SALINA, Utah (AP)-Joey Edwards had two doubles and Michael Hales earned the win on the mound as the North Sevier Wolves got past the Monticello Buckaroos, 10-3 Friday to complete a doubleheader sweep in Region 15 baseball action.

CASTLE DALE, Utah (AP)-Jaiden Huntington tripled and the Emery Lady Spartans amassed 14 hits as they outgunned the Juab Lady Wasps, 18-11 in Region 12 softball action Friday.

RICHFIELD, Utah (AP)-Tauni McFarland homered and tripled while Cali Haymond added another triple as the Manti Lady Templars bludgeoned the Richfield Lady Wildcats, 21-0 Friday in Region 12 softball action.

BLANDING, Utah (AP)-Juanita Royer homered and the San Juan Lady Broncos posted 16 hits in a 15-3 rout of the Gunnison Lady Bulldogs in Region 12 softball action Friday.

BLANDING, Utah (AP)-Abby Bayles, Brooke Lyman, Joline Kirk, J. Hutchings and Teasha Jacobsen each homered and the San Juan Lady Broncos completed a sweep of the Gunnison Lady Bulldogs, with a 16-1 win Friday in Region 12 softball action.

(MOAB) – The Moab Canyonlands Field Airport is expanding service to Page, AZ. and Las Vegas. Moab Mayor Dave Sakrison said the connection to Page and Las Vegas is a great addition to the existing service, which will provide options for visitors and residents alike to access not only the Moab area but Las Vegas, Denver and Northern Arizona. All scheduled flights are operated under Great Lakes Airlines, based in Cheyenne, WY., in conjunction with United Airlines and Frontier Airlines at their Denver, Phoenix and Billings, MT. hubs and Frontier at its Albuquerque, Las Vegas and Milwaukee hubs.

(WASHINGTON D.C.) – Rep. Jason Chaffetz is one of 85 House Republicans calling for the resignation of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid over the possible shutdown of the federal government. Chaffetz said Reid has done nothing to move towards reigning in federal spending. He is also one of 54 House Republicans who voted against a stop-gap measure that would keep the government running for the next two weeks. Chaffetz commented that Reid has consistently attacked the TEA-party movement as a way to distract Americans from the real issue of forcing the federal government to become fiscally responsible. Chaffetz is a member of the Budget Committee and part of the Government Oversight Committee.

(EPHRAIM) – The Snow College Athletic Department in Ephraim has extended the contract of men’s head basketball coach Michael Ostlund. Communications Director Greg Dart says Ostlund is the kind of coach the college always looks for. Ostlund came to Snow College in 2007 and has led the Badgers as head coach each of the last four seasons. He finished the 2010-11 season with an 18-13 record.

(VERMILION CLIFFS NATIONAL MONUMENT, Ariz.)-The Arizona Daily Sun of Flagstaff, Ariz. reports a federal judge in Flagstaff sentenced a Fredonia, Ariz. man to probation for damaging lands at the Vermilion Cliffs National Monument.

According to information gleaned from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, 67-year-old Melvin Mognett will be on probation for three years and pay $7,500 in fines for damage he caused.

He is also banned from U.S. Bureau of Land Management land during his probation.

Last week, Mognett pleaded guilty to one count of off-road travel with resource damage.

According to the investigation, a BLM ranger on patrol on May 29, 2010, near the Utah-Arizona border at Lake Powell found ATV tracks that went off road for 3 miles.

When the ranger found Mognett, he matched the tracks with the tires on the ATV Mognett was riding.

Mognett admitted he knew off-road travel was prohibited in the area, but he wanted to look more closely at geological and archaeological sites.

Vermilion Cliffs is a 294,000-acre national monument that includes th Paria Plateau, Coyote Buttes and Paria Canyon-Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness.

Maximum penalty for a conviction for off-road travel with resource damage is a year in jail along with an $100,000 fine.

(ST. GEORGE)-Dixie State College of Utah will present its annual D-Queen Pageant, as part of the school’s week-long centennial D-Week festivities next Tuesday, April 12 at 7:00 p.m. at the Eccles Fine Arts Center Mainstage Theater on the DSC campus.

General admission tickets for the pageant are $5 and currently on sale at the DSC Avenna Center ticket office.

This year’s pageant consists of seven contestants who will compete for the title of “Miss D-Queen” and are eligible for a $500 scholarship provided by the DSC Alumni Association.

The pageant is an all-day event which culminates with the evening’s festivities, consisting of six judged categories.

Meanwhile, service and community involvement, an interview and academic achievement make up 60 percent of the contest.

The talent, evening wear and essay writing categories make up the balance of the pageant contest.

This year’s pageant theme is “Celebration,” which is a play on the hit song performed by Kool and the Gang in 1980.

Furthermore, the pageant will feature a musical performance by outgoing 2010 D-Queen Stefanie Higginson.

The D-Queen Pageant celebrates, first and foremost, academic prowess, service endeavors, talent and extracurricular activity.

The pageant is part of D-Week, which first began at the college in 1914 as a way to increase school spirit among students, alumni and the community.

For more information, please contact DSC Director of Student Activities Donna Stafford at 652-7513 or stafford @dixie.edu.

(MORONI) – Major management changes have been made at the Moroni Feed Company. Employees at the plant were notified that current CEO Kent Barton of Manti has been released as CEO, to be replaced by Mathew Cook of Moroni. The notification didn’t give a reason why Barton is out. Other changes in the Board of Directors were also announced Thursday, including the resignation of Tracy Cook as Chairman of the Board. Cook is the father of the new CEO at Moroni Feed, Mathew Cook and may have resigned due to his relationship to his son. Tracy will remain as a member of the Board. Moroni Feed selected Troy Prestwich of Moroni as the new Chairman of the Board. Michael Christensen of Moroni also resigned as a member of the Board and Gary Cox of Manti was chosen as his replacement. Further details of the actions will be announced as information is made available.

(ST. GEORGE)-The Salt Lake Tribune reports that since gang problems arose in St. George last summer, gang trends throughout southern Utah were discussed Thursday at the 21st annual Utah Gang Conference, sponsored by the Salt Lake Area Gang Project, at the South Towne Exposition Center in Sandy.

Aaron Bergquist, a detective with St. George’s gang unit says gangs travel regularly along the Interstate 15 corridor between St. George and Salt Lake City, so Utahns need to be aware of their trends.

Bergquist says about 450 documented gang members, and 200 affiliates, call the St. George area home.

Gang detectives estimate there are about 35 gangs in southern Utah, the largest being an 100-member Sureno gang in St. George, known as Angelino Heights.

In an unsolved case stemming from 2008, a 12-year-old Angelino Heights member is suspected of stabbing an 11-year-old rival five times at St. George’s Dixie Downs Park.

The case has been stalled due to witnesses being reticent to cooperate with authorities.

In the past few months, an estimated $20,000 worth of damage from graffiti is believed to have been caused by a Norteno gang comprised primarily of white teenagers.

These middle schoolers, most of which are from “good families” decided to form their branch after listening to the rapper Woodie, Bergquist said.

St. George Police Department detective Johnny Heppler and Bergquist said authorities are committed to keep these episodes from escalating while citing a 42 percent decrease in graffiti around the city since 2007.

They attribute the decrease to aggressive efforts to catch taggers while in 2008, there were 467 graffiti cases reported along with 223 arrests.

Heppler says those numbers have remained consistent.

St. George’s gang unit is expanding along with the city’s gang problem, while the unit formed 11 years ago with just one detective.

This year, the unit features eight officers, Heppler said.

The gang unit is working closely with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and its Operation Community Shield program, which targets gang members who are in the country illegally, Bergquist said.

Consequently, about 100 people have been deported from Washington County since 2007 while the program has also worked with southern Utah gang detectives to bust large marijuana plots throughout the region.

Heppler said efforts to target at-risk youths before they join gangs are currently underway and the gang unit is pleased when they run into residents who are surprised to notice officers wearing gang-unit uniforms.

(PARK CITY)-Deseret Management Corp. CEO Mark Willes discussed the new paradigm that is catalyzing a revival of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints’ for-profit businesses, including the Deseret News, during a keynote address Thursday at the 4th annual LDS business conference in Park City.

Willes took the reins of DMC in 2009, which is the holding company for the LDS Church’s for-profit businesses, which in addition to the Deseret News, include Beneficial Life, KSL-TV and Radio and Deseret Book.

Following a business career that included service as president of Minneapolis-based General Mills and Times Mirror of Los Angeles.

Willes had been retired but agreed to take on the DMC position at the invitation of the Church’s First Presidency.

The seven entities under the DMC umbrella at the time of Willes’ arrival were struggling to remain solvent while Willes’ first step in reversing this trend was for the corporation to be honest with itself concerning what has become a shifting economic landscape.

Objective analysis led DMC to inflict deep cuts on some of its operations while Beneficial Life even closed its doors to new business, although it continues to service and honor its preexisting policies.

DMC real estate holdings were transferred to the LDS Church’s real estate division, while 17 of DMC’s 28 radio stations were sold and Deseret News endured a 42 percent staff reduction.

At this same time, DMC launched new companies, such as Deseret Digital Media, which operates the Web site of DMC entities and El Observador, a thrice-weekly Spanish-language newsletter which is already the state’s most wide-read Spanish periodical.

In closing, Willes said as the capstone to the institutional overhaul of DMC businesses, he supervised the creation and implementation of a faith-based mission statement which would be applied to all DMC holdings.

(SALT LAKE CITY)-Renewable power will be the focus of an all-day conference at the Salt Palace Convention Center later this month that will include a keynote address from a senior energy official.

Wendolyn Holland of the U.S. Department of Energy will speak at the conference, which is slated for April 19.

Holland, who specializes in commercialization of clean energy and the development of sustainable water resources, will be joined at the conference by Utah Governor Gary Herbert who will discuss his 10-year energy development plan for the state.

The conference will also consist of sessions for developing renewable energy projects, securing state and federal tax credits and the legal issues surrounding the energy projects.

Educational booths will also be set up during the conference that will provide practical information for parents and children.

(SALT LAKE CITY) – National Weather Service officials in Salt Lake City are saying more wet weather hitting the state this weekend could produce more flooding. NWS Hydrologist Brian McInerney says major flooding due to rapid snowmelt is not typically a big concern until about a month from now. He said those who live near high water tables, or by the Jordan River, could see problems with basement flooding due to highly saturated soil, even if the river hasn’t gone over its banks. Northern Utah is expected to get more rain and snow today and Southern Utah will receive rain and wind for at least the next two days.

(SALT LAKE CITY)-While continually being honored for his efforts in “building people economically, socially and spiritually,” President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, second counselor in the First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints has been awarded the 2011 Legacy of Life award at a ceremony Thursday evening.

The Deseret Foundation’s Heart and Lung Research Foundation, a fundraising arm of Intermountain Healthcare, presented President Uchtdorf with this award at a banquet at the Little America Hotel in downtown Salt Lake City.

The award, first created in 1991, is given to “eminent leaders with Utah ties” for their contributions to the well-being of people throughout the world, according to award committee chair Frank Madsen.

President Uchtdorf said he is “deeply honored” and “humbled” to receive the award, and in his acceptance speech he accredited past award recipient, Church President Thomas S. Monson, as well as his other colleague in the First Presidency, President Henry B. Eyring.

Both President Monson and President Eyring were in attendance at the event.

The banquet annually raises money for heart and lung research.

Previously, President Uchtdorf worked as a pilot for Frankfurt, Germany-based airline Lufthansa for nearly 30 years where he was in various leadership positions, including head of the airline pilot school, director of in-flight services and head of cockpit crews.

He was vice president of flight operations and chief pilot when he was called as an LDS general authority in 1994.

Elizabeth H. Hammond, a physician and researcher at LDS Hospital and a University of Utah medical school professor, was also honored at the event.

She was given the Legacy of Life Scientific Honoree Medallion for her work in cardiac and pulmonary research, pathology, and electron microscopy.

President Uchtdorf and his wife Harriet have two children and six grandchildren.

(SALT LAKE CITY)-A new law going into effect in July 2012 will give the Drivers License Division greater oversight of a program which will involve the use of ignition interlock devices.

This includes certifying and regulating all ignition interlock providers in the state, according to Kim Gibb, records bureau chief for the Utah Driver License Division.

Gibb, who played a role in the drafting of the bill covering such matters, SB272, couldn’t say whether the law would play a role in prosecuting those guilty of DUI, but she said the bill will place more accountability upon the shoulders of restricted drivers.

Under this new law, the driver’s license division would have the authority to suspend the license of someone who was required to have an ignition interlock device and didn’t have one.

(SALT LAKE CITY)-Earlier this week, a panel of national energy experts spoke in Utah saying the state’s efforts to reduce its carbon footprint is making some more progress by using more solar, wind and geothermal power, although the process is still considerably slow.

The six panelists at the Nature of Things 2011 lecture on reinventing energy at the Salt Lake City Library said it will take a change in the “ordinary citizen’s” attitude and considerably more political will on the part of policymakers to cut public reliance on fossil fuels.

Sarah Wright, the executive director of Utah Clean Energy says Utah needs an updated building code requiring more energy efficient structures as well as public policies and mandates that expedite change.

The Public Safety Building currently being designed for Salt Lake City will be the first “net-zero” building in the city, said Vicki Bennett, Salt Lake City’s sustainability director.

Bennett also says there will be zero net energy consumption and no annual carbon emissions at the new building.

PAROWAN, Utah (AP)-Caden Pickett tripled and Austin Pickett doubled while also earning the win on the mound as the Parowan Rams doubled up the South Sevier Rams, 16-8 Thursday in Region 13 baseball action.

RICHFIELD, Utah (AP)-Jace Abbott posted two goals while Bryan May, Colin Christensen and Jace Johnson also scored as the Delta Rabbits tripped p the Richfield Wildcats, 5-2 in Region 12 soccer action Thursday. Jaz Peppelaar posted two goals in the loss for the Wildcats.

MONROE, Utah (AP)-Tyler Roberts amassed four goals and Dallin Langford also scored as the Beaver Beavers tripped up the South Sevier Rams, 5-2 in 2A South soccer action Thursday. Ammon Elison had both goals in the loss for South Sevier.

OREM, Utah (AP)-Brooke Hare homered and tripled and the Delta Lady Rabbits overpowered the Orem Lady Tigers, 13-6 Thursday in non-region softball action.

(MEXICO CITY)-KTSM-TV, Channel 9 in El Paso, Texas reports a magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck parts of central and southern Mexico Thursday morning.

The quake prompted people to run from their offices and head to the streets in the capital of Mexico City, one of the world’s more populous cities.

The quake reportedly struck, seismologists say, about 370 miles southeast of Mexico City.

There are no initial reports of damages or injuries.

(GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK, Ariz.)-The Arizona Daily Sun of Flagstaff, Ariz. reports the U.S. Magistrate Court judge at Flagstaff has banned a St. George man from Grand Canyon National Park for kayaking on the Colorado River without a permit.

According to information gleaned from the U.S. Attorney’s Office at Flagstaff, the 24-year-old Dean Woods Jr. has been banned from the park for three years while on probation for pleading guilty to conducting a river trip without a permit.

According to National Park Service investigators, on July 7, 2010, Woods hiked into the canyon with an inflatable kayak in the remote Tuweep area.

Rangers, working on a missing-persons report, found him on a beach on the river while Woods remorsefully admitted he knew a permit was required to kayak on the Colorado in park boundaries.

The maximum penalty for the offense is six months in jail and a $5,000 fine.

(SALT LAKE CITY)-The Salt Lake Tribune reports Utah state epidemiologist Robert Rolfs will now serve as the deputy director of the state’s Department of Health.

Executive director David Patton appointed Rolfs to the post Thursday while he will oversee the public health work of the department, including the Division of Disease Control and Prevention as well as the Division of Family Health and Preparedness.

He will also continue his work as chief medical officer and state epidemiologist.

Rolfs, who also volunteers to provide medical care for homeless Utahns at the 4th Street Clinic, has worked at the department since 1993.

He previously worked for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as an epidemic intelligence officer as well as in the agency’s Division of Sexually Transmitted Diseases Prevention.

Rolfs earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Notre Dame, his medical degree from Northwestern University Medical School and a master’s degree of public health from the University of Washington.

Patton also announced his appointment of Teresa Garrett to serve as the director of the Division of Disease Control while she will oversee the bureau of epidemiology and health promotion, the state public health lab and the office of the state medical examiner.

Garrett is a registered nurse and holds a master’s degree in nursing administration.

Additionally, she is a fellow of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and an adjunct clinical faculty member at the University of Utah’s College of Nursing.

(WINSTON-SALEM, N.C.)-While pain relief and mediation have been previously linked in studies, research from the Winston-Salem, N.C.-based Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center shows through neuromanaging, even amateurs can learn to mediate effectively to provide relief.

The study was published this week in the Journal of Neuroscience.

Fadel Zeidan, the lead author of the study and a post-doctoral research fellow at the center said this is the first study to show only a little over an hour of mediation training can dramatically reduce the pain experience and pain-related brain activation.

To complete the study, researchers trained 15 healthy volunteers who didn’t know how to mediate, using four 20-minute classes to introduce them to “focused attention,” a form of “mindfulness mediation” which hones in on breathing technique, which has traditionally been associated with Buddhist monks.

A special type of magnetic resonance imaging, known as arterial spin labeling MRI was used before and after the training sessions while the equivalent of a hot poker, or a pain-inducing heat device, was placed on each participant’s right calf.

It proceeded to heat an area of skin to 120 degrees Fahrenheit for five minutes.

Research showed when this process was bereft of mediation, it hurt patients but images taken after participants learned about the mindfulness mediation techniques showed that all of them experienced decreased pain levels.

The pain dropped somewhere between 11 and 93 percent in all cases when this technique was used.

The release asserted mediation significantly reduced brain activity in the primary somatosensory cortex, the part of the brain that creates a sense of place and intensity for pain.

Furthermore, when the subjects were mediating, activity in the pain-processing center was undetectable.

Mediation was also found to increase activity in the anterior cingulate cortex, anterior insula and the orbitro-frontal cortex.

Researcher Robert C. Coghill, a senior author and associate professor of neurology and anatomy at Wake Forest Baptist, said those areas of the brain “shape how the brain builds an experience of pain from nerve signals coming into the body.”

Additionally, the Semel Institute at UCLA has placed how-to videos online which teach mindfulness mediation while about.com has also become involved by placing a section on use of mediation, specifically for arthritis pain relief, on its Web site.

(SALT LAKE CITY)-University of Utah medical researchers have found evidence that Parkinson’s disease is associated with an increased risk for prostate cancer as well as melanoma.

Evidence also shows this increased risk extends to close and more distant relatives.

The finding, announced Wednesday, is the first to link prostate cancer risk and Parkinson’s while it apparently dispels the notion an earlier association between Parkinson’s and melanoma suggesting melanoma’s presence was a side effect of one medication used to treat Parkinson’s.

Furthermore, researchers believe the increased risk for Parkinson’s in certain circles suggests it is genetic.

The U.’s chairman of neurology, Dr. Stefan-M. Pulst says the risk is small but statistically significant.

The researchers used the Utah Population Database, which features birth, death and family relationship data for the state’s 2.2-million residents to look for the connections.

It also linked with the Utah Cancer Registry records dating back to the 1960s as well as state death certificates going back to 1904, according to Lisa A. Cannon-Albright, professor of internal medicine and chief of the U.’s epidemiology division.

Researchers believe the findings may lead to new treatments as more is shared concerning the shared genetic pathways of the disease.

Pulst said this is also a reminder for clinicians and patients to be mindful of a family’s particular medical history.

Cannon-Albright said the research team, which included Dr. Seth A. Kareus and Karla Figueroa, searched the database for individuals whose death certificates listed Parkinson’s as a cause of death and who had at least three generations of genealogical data available to be searched.

Their findings showed that not only were prostate cancer and melanoma risks higher in the group, they also discovered a statistically-significant increased risk to second-degree relatives in the melanoma group and to third-degree relatives for prostate cancer.

They also noted a decreased risk for lung cancer was associated with Parkinson’s, but this did not extend to relatives.

Pulst is presenting the research at the American Academy of Neurology annual meeting which begins Thursday and runs through Saturday April 16 at Honolulu.

(SALT LAKE CITY)-With Utah boasting five national parks and seven more national monuments, the state stands to lose big should the federal government shut down Friday night amid failed budget talks.

Tourism officials say the state could lose millions of dollars in visitor revenue if the parks close as families with kids on spring break change their plans and head elsewhere.

Business owners in towns such as Springdale, Torrey and Tropic say closures would severely cut into the start of their “busy season.”

For instance, about 2.6 million people visit Zion National Park each year, with the numbers currently starting to increase.

The Department of the Interior says it is hoping a government shutdown does not occur but if it does, national parks will close nationwide.

(TOKYO)-Thursday night, Japan was struck with yet another strong earthquake as a 7.4-magnitude aftershock hit the island nation.

This is the strongest aftershock since the day of the magnitude-9.0 megaquake last month which killed some 25,000 people, tore apart thousands of homes and has sparked an ongoing crisis at a nuclear power plant.

Damage and injuries from the aftershock were not immediately clear while the Japanese meteorological agency briefly issued another tsunami warning Thursday night while later cancelling it.

Officials at the tsunami-ravaged Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant said there were no immediate signs of new problems caused by the aftershock.

Japan’s nuclear safety agency says workers in the area have retreated to a quake-resistant shelter in the complex while no one there was injured.

Officials say Thursday’s aftershock hit 30 miles under the water and off the coast of Miyagi prefecture, located on the populous Japanese island of Honshu.

The quake that preceded last month’s tsunami was a 9.0-magnitude while The U.S. Geological Survey at Golden, Colo. later downgraded Thursday’s quake to 7.1.

Buildings as far away as Tokyo shook for about a minute.

At Ichinoseki, Japan, which is inland from the Japanese eastern coast, buildings shook violently, knocking items from shelves and toppling furniture while there was no heavy damage incurred to the buildings themselves.

Immediately after the quake, all power was cut, the city went dark but cars still were driving normally and people assembled in the streets, notwithstanding the late hour.

The quake struck at 11:32 p.m. local time.

Paul Caruso, a USGS geophysicist said this quake struck at about the same location and depth as last month’s hug quake which was the strongest of the more than 1,000 aftershocks that have been felt since, save for a 7.9 aftershock that day.

Another USGS geophysicist, Don Blakeman, said it was the strongest aftershock since March 11, although several aftershocks on that day were bigger.

The USGS says this aftershock struck off the eastern coast, some 40 miles from Sendai, the capital of Miyagi prefecture, and 70 miles from Fukushima.

It was about 205 miles away from Tokyo.

A Pacific Tsunami Warning Center evaluation of the quake said an oceanwide tsunami was not expected but it did note quakes of that strength can cause waves that are destructive locally.

(SALT LAKE CITY) – A mineral company was the highest bidder on 64 parcels in the Dry Sevier Lake bed in a potash lease sale in Salt Lake City on Tuesday. Out of four bidding entities, Peak Minerals, Inc. bid $203.57 per acre on all 64 parcels, totaling about 125,762 acres of potassium-rich brines to produce potash. BLM officials said that due to federal rules on the leasing of solid minerals, an entity in one state may lease no more than 96,000 acres. Peak Minerals will be required to relinquish thousands of acres until they reach the threshold and the remaining parcels will go the second-highest bidder. The second bidder can accept or reject the offer. Bidders included, Great Salt Lake Minerals Corp., Luke Kline and Mathews Eggers and Bro Energy, LLC.

(PORTLAND, Ore.)-Officials say a Delta Airlines flight flying from Portland, Ore. returned to Portland International Airport shortly after takeoff when it hit a bird.

SkyWest Airlines spokeswoman Brooke Heath says Flight 4621 took off for Salt Lake City at 4:47 p.m. PDT Wednesday afternoon and returned to Portland around 5:00 p.m.

Heath says the aircraft made a safe landing and no one was hurt.

Heath says the flight was cancelled as crews began inspecting the aircraft while passengers were placed on later flights.

Delta Flight 4621 was being operated by Atlanta-based Delta’s partner, SkyWest Airlines of St. George.

MT. PLEASANT, Utah (AP)-Wednesday afternoon, the North Sanpete Hawks’ boys’ tennis team amassed a significant win by besting the Wateford Ravens, 5-0 in non-region action.

Stephen Lewis led the way in first singles by earning 6-4 and 7-5 wins while Hunter Erickson proved solid in second singles by taking 6-2 and 6-1 victories.

Additionally, Cameron Sego won in third singles, 6-2, 6-2 while in first doubles, Caden Birch and Dustin Allred posted 6-3, 6-4 wins.

To complete North Sanpete’s dominance, Andrew Fryer and Brent Watson earned 6-2, 6-0 wins.

North Sanpete has a record of 6-4 thus far on the season.

Mid-Utah Radio/Television thanks Jeff Erickson for his assistance in providing this information.

(MURRAY)-Wednesday, Intermountain Healthcare joined four other leading health care systems throughout the country to announce a collaborative effort to exchange electronic clinical data.

The Care Connectivity Consortium will enable the five systems, IHC, Kaiser Permanente of Oakland, Calif., the Mayo Clinic of Rochester, Minn., Jacksonville, Fla. and Phoenix, the Danville, Pa.based Geinsinger Healh System and Group Health Cooperative of Seattle, to share patient consented electronic health data securely while providing a model for connected care across the country.

Recently, Dr. Todd Allen, the director of research for emergency medicine at the Intermountain Medical Center of Murray provided care for a woman who had previously been treated at a facility owned by another organization which took roughly six hours.

With the new collaboration in place, Allen says this process can be completed in as little as 15 minutes.

This “historic collaboration” of big-name medical organizations is an initiative that IHC Chief Information Officer Marc Probst hopes will inspire other medical entities to join.

Although IHC has been sharing electronic information internally for 20 years, widespread electronic medical records were nearly non-existent before the recent push by the Obama Administration’s health care reform policy.

Money is now being spent to upgrade systems to accommodate electric exchanges such as the one which occurred Wednesday.

Mayo Clinic President and CEO John Noseworthy says each organization which joined the collaboration has experienced situations where the data, now readily available, would have been helpful to help patients more effectively in previous instances.

Other health care organizations in Utah are not involved in this particular collaborative but Allen did say similar partnerships are occurring throughout the U.S., including some within Utah to enable the exchange of information to occur across various platforms.

(SALT LAKE CITY)-Recent recommendations by the Washington-based National Institute of Medicine have made it clear the role of nurses will change dramatically in upcoming years to meet the increasing demand for care that will be created by health reform while also advancing improvements in the country’s increasingly complex health care system.

Utah is one of 15 states selected to pilot the implementation of such recommendations, bringing together numerous aspects of health care.

University of Utah College of Nursing Dean Maurine Keefe says nurses are poised to increase patients’ access to care but need different avenues from which such care can be delivered.

Keefe says traditional hospital-based care is driving up costs and decreasing access for many individuals while according to the IOM, new recommendations will provide the basis for how health care can be enhanced.

The IOM believes nurses should obtain higher levels of education and training via an improved education system including a creation of a residency program to help nurses transition from education to practice as well as providing additional opportunities for lifelong learning.

After engaging in extensive research and data collection, the IOM has recommended the profession institute residency training for nurses should increase the number of nurses who attain at least a bachelor’s degree to 80 percent by 2020.

The institute also recommends the number who pursue doctorates be at least doubled.

The IOM believes if such standards are adhered to, nurses will be able to reach their full potential within the scopes of practice, which is important, as they are often the first person a patient sees.

MONROE, Utah (AP)-Ammon Elison posted four goals and Nick Deryke added two more as the South Sevier Rams gashed the North Sevier Wolves, 6-2 Wednesday in 2A South soccer action.

KANAB, Utah (AP)-Shelby Sheriff pounded two doubles and earned the win on the mound as the Millard Lady Eagles shellacked the Kanab Cowgirls, 19-1 in Region 13 softball action Wednesday.

(MONROE) – Monroe City officials and those opposed to wastewater connections are awaiting results of a straw poll next Tuesday that will help the city decide if residents should hook up to the new proposed system. Some residents have complained that hooking up will cost up to $3,000 but Mayor Kirt Nilsson says a contractor has determined the amount is far less. Nilsson said the city still has not received any funding for the proposed project and public hearings have been held to gain comments if the city should move forward with securing funding. Some residents are pursuing an initiative petition to gain enough signatures to place the issue on a ballot for a vote.

(GLEN CANYON NATIONAL RECREATION AREA)-The Arizona Daily Sun of Flagstaff, Ariz. reports a North Carolina man has received five years of probation, a $10,000 fine and must serve 100 hours of community service after pleading guilty to damaging a petroglyph along the Colorado River.

According to information gleaned from the U.S. Attorney’s Office at Flagstaff, the 29-year-old Trenton Austin Ganey, pleaded guilty in December 2010 to damaging an archaeological resource.

Ganey had been on a fishing trip on the river below Glen Canyon Dam in June 2010 and while his trip was stopped on a beach, he hiked to the Descending Sheep panel and scratched his name into the panel.

Park rangers discovered the damage a short time after Ganey’s party left and caught up to them.

Ganey then admitted to committing the offense and showed remorse for his actions.

The fine will help restore and rehabilitate the panel, which has great significance to Native Americans in northern Arizona, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

The community service was meant to encourage Ganey to educate others of the danger of desecrating archaeological sites.

Archaeologists say the Descending Sheep Panel reflects rock art of three separate cultural periods, dating back as far as 8,000 years ago.

(WASHINGTON)-In a press release issued by the National Park Service, the NPS would like to remind Americans the week of April 16-24 will feature free admission to all of the United States’ 394 national parks.

NPS director Jonathan B. Jarvis says national parks have always been popular vacation destinations for tourists while they are also an effective way for people to remain physically fit.

National parks offer numerous options to visitors as in most of them, park rangers give lectures or free guided tours among other activities.

In addition to waiving entrance fees during this week, national parks and their partners are offering programs as part of National Park Week festivities.

For instance, Saturday April 16, many parks will be looking for volunteers to assist with projects and Saturday April 23, kids will be special guests for the 5th annual Junior Ranger day.

Additional free admission days at national parks will be Tuesday June 21, the first day of summer, Wednesday September 21, National Public Lands Day, and Friday-Sunday, November 11-13, Veteran’s Day Weekend.

Utah is home to 13 national parks and monuments.

(SALT LAKE CITY)-The Salt Lake Tribune reports Tuesday the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled a lower court had erred when it determined parental rights were improperly terminated in an adoption proceeding involving a child later identified as a member of the Cherokee Nation.

Britney Jane Little Dove Nielson relinquished her parental rights in 2007, a day after giving birth to a boy adopted by Joshua and Sunny Ketchum.

In this proceeding, a Utah judge ruled the baby’s grandmother was a registered member of the Cherokee Nation but Nielson was not and the adoption did not need to abide by the Indian Child Welfare Act.

The adoption became finalized in May 2008.

In June 2008, Nielson filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court alleging the adoption was invalid under the act, which imposes a 10-day waiting period before parental rights involving an “Indian” child may be terminated.

Furthermore, Nielson argued the baby qualified as a member of the Cherokee Nation as his grandmother is an enrolled member of the tribe and under Cherokee law, every newborn who is a direct descendant of such members receives temporary citizenship.

In a 2009 court ruling, the district court judge agreed and ruled the termination of Nielson’s parental rights were invalid although the judge left the adoption decree intact, saying a state court would have to sort out the baby’s custody.

Nielson filed a lawsuit in state court, seeking her child’s return, and when the judge ruled the statute of limitations barred the action, appealed.

The case is currently pending in Utah Supreme Court.

In its newly released opinion, the appeals court says Nielson’s child is a direct descendant of a Cherokee Nation enrollee and found that this type of “temporary citizenship” does not apply for Indian Child Welfare Act purposes.

The act only covers full members, the court said, rather than those with temporary status.

Nielson’s options now include asking the full bank of 10th Circuit judges to reconsider the case or appealing the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The Tribune reported they were unable to reach attorneys for Nielson or the Cherokee Nation Tuesday.

(NEPHI) – The Utah Bureau of Land Management is seeking comment on an environmental assessment concerning competitive oil and gas leases on parcels in Juab and Millard Counties. The BLM Fillmore Field Office is offering 10 individual parcels, totaling 11,113 acres, varying in size from 40 to 2,320 acres. BLM officials say that five parcels are located in Juab County and the remaining five parcels are located in Millard County. The oil and gas lease sale will be held in August and the public is invited to comment through April 29.

(RICHFIELD) – The Sterling Scholars of Central Utah were judged Tuesday by several business owners, educators and professors. Scholar organizers displayed the portfolios of 128 Sterling Scholars at the Sevier Valley Center Arena in Richfield and judges chose one winner and two runners-up in 15 categories. Organizers say that the Sterling Scholars Program will be held on April 13 at 7pm at the SVC. The public is invited to attend free of charge.

(PROVO)-After leading Brigham Young’s mens’ basketball team to their best season in 30 years, head coach Dave Rose has signed a new contract with a significant raise that will keep him at the head of the Cougars’ program for years to come.

Exact details of the deal have not yet been released but are expected to be made public during a 1:00 p.m. MDT press conference at Provo this afternoon.

In six seasons at the helm at BYU, Rose has amassed a record of 159-45 and won four Mountain West Conference titles in the process.

During the upcoming basketball season, BYU will compete in the West Coast Conference, with such teams as Gonzaga, Loyola Marymount, Saint Mary’s and Santa Clara.

(SALT LAKE CITY) – A new state water report says Utah is “much above average” in its total overall water supply. A summary of the 2011 Water Supply Outlook report said snow continues to pile up in the mountains, extending winter conditions for several more weeks. The report also indicated that above average snowpacks may produce more flooding this spring, with April being the swing month for snowmelt runoff. Tage Flint, general manager of the Weber Basin Water Conservancy District, said the Pineview Dam can hold 110,000-acre feet of water but impending snowmelt could bring over 220,000-acre feet of additional water to the reservoir, which is already half full. Mountain precipitation in March measured 144% of the overall average for the Weber region, Provo was 117% of average and the Bear region was 149% of average, according to the report. Statewide, seasonal snow accumulations measured from October to April, were 142% of average.

(LONDON)-After an unsuccessful legal battle for inclusion at the 2010 Winter Olympic Games at Vancouver, British Columbia, women’s ski jumping was granted a place at the 2014 Winter Olympiad slated for Sochi, Russia.

The International Olympic Committee executive board also approved the addition of mens’ and women’s ski halfpipe, mixed relay in biathlon and team events, such as luge and figure skating.

Proposals for inclusion of slopestyle events in snowboard and freestyle skiing as well as a team Alpine skiing event were put on hold for further review.

On two separate occasions, the IOC rejected women’s ski jumping for the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, saying the sport lacked enough elite competitors.

Women jumpers later took their case as far as the Supreme Court of Canada in Ottawa, but failed to overturn the IOC’s decision.

The women seemingly sealed their case at the Nordic World Championships in Oslo early March when competitors jumped in anything but accommodating conditions and Norwegian-based IOC board member Gerard Heiberg became impressed with how they performed.

In October, the IOC said “it looked favorably” upon all the proposed events but postponed a ruling until after the various world championship events this winter.

(SALT LAKE CITY)-Wednesday, Utahns are being encouraged to wear or at least bring sneakers to their work environments as part of the American Heart Association’s fifth-annual National Start Walking Day.

The association says the workplace has proven to be an effective location to foster physical activity while it can also go the other way because the AHA says Utahns are on average working longer hours than in the past and consequently, their lives have become more sedentary.

AHA board member Nicholas Hintze said 70 percent of American adults report being told by a healthcare professional to make a lifestyle change.

Meanwhile, 33 percent of adults were told they need to walk more while Hintze says walking is the simplest way to start aerobic exercise.

The AHA is also working on a smart phone app which will give information on local safe and free walking paths.

(RICHFIELD) – The Colorado man charged in the death of a Sevier County deputy made an initial appearance in court Tuesday. Sixth District Court records showed that 19-year old Corbin Mander of Saratoga Springs, CO., made his appearance to answer charges filed against him in the death of 36-year old Sgt. Franco Aguilar, who died after being thrown off Fish Lake Bridge on I-70 last April, while the officer was helping another motorist. Mander was charged with negligent homicide, driving too fast for conditions and failure to reduce speed when approaching an emergency vehicle. Court documents indicated that Mander did not enter a plea but was appointed a public defender and allowed a waiver or preliminary hearing. Mander will be back in court in three weeks.

(SALT LAKE CITY)-Utah state officials are blocking any further attempts by rival claimants to seize control of a southern Utah polygamous sect as the internal battle is now likely headed to court.

Last week, an elder in a sect currently led by the incarcerated Warren Jeffs, William E. Jessop, filed to take over as president of the corporation in question.

Days later, a Jeffs loyalist shot back with a filing which removed Jessop and reinstated Jeffs, throwing the already tenuous power struggle into limbo.

New papers filed with the state this week claim that sect members voted to support Jeffs’ presidency and renounce Jessop.

As of Tuesday, it remained unclear who the state now recognizes as the sect’s leader but the final call likely now rests in the court’s hands.

Sect attorneys had no immediate comment.

(SALT LAKE CITY)-A newly launched, enhanced 911 service at the University of Utah means dispatchers can pinpoint the location of callers when they use either campus or cell phones.

Information from cell-tower triangulation tells dispatchers where a person calling on a cell phone is on campus, even if the caller is on the move to get away from a hazard or threat, according to University of Utah Police public information officer Garth Smith.

The system is able to pinpoint a cell caller’s location within 10 to 15 feet, Smith said.

This enhanced system also gives dispatchers exact locations for calls from campus land line phones while dispatchers would have the caller’s phone number in either case even if the call should be disconnected and officers call back, Smith stated.

U. Police Chief Scott Folsom said this new technology will enable his officers to respond to incidents more swiftly and the instantaneous response will more effectively assist those in distress.

The new E911 system came at a cost of approximately $200,000, $140,000 of which came from a state grant.

(NEW YORK)-In the next few months, Utahns may begin seeing a new company on their phone bills.

Monroe, La.-based CenturyLink says it has completed its purchase of Qwest, combining the country’s third and fourth-largest traditional phone companies into one entity.

This consolidation is a response to steady cancellation of landlines as households chose to rely more on cell phones or cable phone service.

The closing of the $12.2 billion all-stock deal follows nearly a year of regulatory reviews while the combined company will offer landline phone service in parts of 37 states.

CenturyLink will keep its headquarters in Monroe, while Denver-based Qwest’s headquarters will turn into one of CenturyLink’s six regional headquarters and will serve as the company’s overall headquarters for its business service group.

The combined company has roughly 47,000 employees and some job cuts could occur.

Previously, both CenturyLink and Qwest have been cutting jobs as a consequence of losing phone lines as customers continually choose to rely on other methods for phone communication rather than conventional phone lines.

The company now boasts 15 million phone lines while the only two bigger companies are Dallas-based AT&T Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc. of New York.

(SALT LAKE CITY) – The devastation from the earthquake in Japan has alerted Utah authorities to be ready for a similar incident along the Wasatch Front. In his monthly “Let Me Speak To The Governor” address, Gov. Gary Herbert declared this week to be Earthquake Preparedness Week, in conjunction with national preparation awareness, to be ready in the event of a disaster. Seismologists say that earthquakes caused nearly 227,000 deaths around the world in 2010 and Utah’s population is located in areas susceptible to large earthquakes. Gov. Herbert said preparedness is not a task, it’s a lifestyle and people can do simple things, such as making a plan, getting a kit, being informed and getting involved. Information about emergency planning is available at www.bereadyutah.gov.

(RICHFIELD) – A Colorado woman was injured along with her eight-year old son when she rolled her vehicle on I-70 Sunday morning. According to a UHP report, 36-year old Christine Williams of Arvada, CO. was traveling eastbound in a 2002 Dodge Caravan, when she drifted off the right shoulder of the highway and overturned at about 7:30am. UHP said she and her son, Riley, sustained head injuries and were transported to the Sevier Valley Medical Center in Richfield for treatment. Her two other children, seven-year old Brady Williams and five-year old Bella Williams, were not injured. All were wearing their seatbelts at the time of the accident.

(FLAGSTAFF, Ariz.)-The Arizona Daily Sun of Flagstaff, Ariz. reports the Navajo Nation’s utility company and a wholesale wireless provider have joined forces to upgrade telecommunications services on the vast reservation.

The Navajo Tribal Utility Authority and Atlanta-based Commnet Wireless LLC announced the partnership Monday.

The tribe purchased a majority ownership of a Commnet subsidiary top create NUTA Wireless LLC.

The utility’s general manager says the deployment of 3G wireless phones and 4G broadband services will take a couple of years.

Upon its completion, about 80 percent of residents on the reservation will have access to the broadband network.

Ultimately, the tribe’s goal is to get into the retail market while that plan is largely dependent upon the federal government’s approval of a subsidy that would allow low-income residents to purchase service plans for as little as $1 per month.

(SALT LAKE CITY)-The Salt Lake Tribune reports the University of Utah is evaluating whether it will contest a citation that alleges the school is to blame for an industrial accident that injured 12 workers who had been hanging insulation in a utility tunnel when it suddenly filled with steam.

A power failure resulted in 400-degree pressurized water gushing from a pipe workers had been led to believe was abandoned, according to the March 29 citation issued by the Utah Labor Commission.

The open-ended pipe should have been capped since it was actually connected to the hot water system, thereby creating a “risk of death or serious physical harm.”

The citation alleged the university had failed to “designate a competent person” to inspect the unsafe condition while calling this a serious safety violation.

Two men were critically injured, including Antonio Flores, who spent weeks in the hospital while others suffered lesser burns, scalding lung injuries and psychological trauma, lawyers stated.

Since the university is a public entity, no monetary sanction is accompanying the citation, according to Division of Occupational Safety and Health operations manager William Adams.

The U. has 30 days to formally contest the citation, which is to be posted in a prominent place until the alleged violation has been abated, or a span of three days, whichever lasts longer.

A university spokesman was unsure whether officials posted the citation, but stressed the pipe was safe shortly after the November 1 incident.

University officials declined further comment as the matter is likely to result in litigation.

The U.’s hot water system has undergone incremental upgrades although more are needed to make it safe and reliable, according to university officials’ previous statements to lawmakers.

The water line in question had been deactivated in 2009 and was cut four other times in subsequent months but it remained uncapped despite being connected to active lines at the time of the accident, according to the citation.

The subcontractors repeatedly informed workers for Layton Construction, the U.’s primary contractor, when they encountered pipes that needed to be cut, Layton officials were in turn assured by university officials the lines were abandoned, according to the citation.

Without a cap on the line, the construction site was only a power outage away from an accident as a critical valve was set to automatically open in the event of power failure.

Outages are common on campus and often last longer the more they occur, U. officials told lawmakers last session, while they unsuccessfully sought $50 million to upgrade the electrical and hot-water systems.

(ST. GEORGE) – The U.S. Forest Service has awarded the Dixie National Forest $33,000 in support of the “Color Country Outdoor Youth Initiative” program that provides conservation education for kids to experience the great outdoors. Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell said young people today are tomorrow’s stewards of the our public lands and we have a duty to help them develop a lasting connection and passion for conservation of America’s great outdoors. The Forest Service also awarded $24,000 to the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forests for the “Experience Your Abilities Program.”

(SALT LAKE CITY)-Tuesday, the Federal Aviation Administration announced it will require carriers to inspect specific, older Boeing 737s after the frightening fuselage split on a Southwest Airlines flight Friday April 1.

The FAA says the mandate began Tuesday and there are 80 registered 737s in the U.S., most of which belong to Dallas-based Southwest Airlines.

The crack in a Southwest plane Friday at Yuma, Ariz. resulted in an emergency landing, terrorizing many passengers.

This has spurred on inspection upgrades as well as a call for a bill to reauthorize the FAA to toughen airline inspections.

This past weekend, Southwest canceled 600 flights to conduct inspections.

Meanwhile, inspectors found subcracks on three of the 67 planes.

All others returned to service.

Chicago-based Boeing Inc. released a statement Monday saying the company is committed to ensuring safe flights and supporting customers.

In closing, the statement said if the investigation determines a need to communicate to the fleet, appropriate action will be taken.

(SALT LAKE CITY)-Utah leaders have refused to extend unemployment benefits for more than 20,000 people whose current assistance payments are about to end.

The offer from the federal government to provide nearly $100 million for an additional 13 weeks of unextended employment benefits expired Saturday.

Qualifying required the approval of state lawmakers, something the Republican-dominated Legislature never supported.

This issue was discussed during the 2010 legislative session, but did not come up again this year, despite the approaching deadline.

The Legislature ended its 2011 session March 10.

The state is also setting an example for self-sufficiency by not accepting tax money, Senate President Michael Waddoups said.

Currently, Utah provides 26 weeks of state unemployment benefits while there is another 47 weeks of federal unemployment available for people after state benefits end.

As part of the federal stimulus package passed in 2009, states with unemployment rates of 6.5 percent or higher may qualify for 13 weeks of additional benefits while states with 8 percent or higher could receive an additional 20 weeks.

Presently, Utah’s unemployment rate is 7.5 percent and the state is one of eight nationwide refusing to take the money, while the sticking point for virtually all of them is refusing to change their unemployment laws to qualify.

Missouri was the one state who refused in a unique position as it made the sufficient changes to qualify last year but earlier this week, the Republican-led Legislature stopped an attempt to reauthorize the state’s participation.

Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick, Michigan governor Rick Snyder and Oregon governor John Kitzhaber all signed laws within the past week continuing participation.

Although the money in question wouldn’t have required a state match, public employers would have been forced to pay extended benefits for any former employees still without a job, something Utah Governor Gary Herbert opposed.