PANGUITCH, Utah (AP)-Caden Figgins doubled and earned the win on the mound as the Panguitch Bobcats shellacked the Bryce Valley Mustangs, 23-1 Wednesday in Region 20 baseball action. Tyce Barney and Tyler Brinkerhoff also doubled in the win for the Bobcats.

PANGUITCH, Utah (AP)-Natashia Barney posted 10 aces and Carly Holman stepped up with six kills as the Panguitch Lady Bobcats ousted the Bryce Valley Lady Mustangs, 3-0 in Region 20 volleyball action Wednesday.

(BOISE, Idaho)-The Idaho Statesman reports extensive renovations are underway on the Boise Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

The upgrade, which has totaled $13 million, will include new furnishing and reinforced bathrooms, while the structure will be reinforced with shear walls, steel beams and floor joists, as well as a mezzanine for maintenance access.

R. Craig Rasmussen, the Idaho area director for public affairs of the Church said between 50 and 75 construction workers will be at the temple throughout the next calendar year.

A re-dedication of the building is slated for July 2012 once the renovation is complete and in the interim, Latter-Day Saints in the area will likely go to the Twin Falls, Idaho Temple.

The temple was initially dedicated on May 30, 1984 by former Church President Gordon B. Hinckley, while a second dedication occurred on May 29, 1987 by President James E. Faust, formerly of the First Presidency, when the building received an addition.

(GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK, Ariz.)-The Arizona Daily Sun of Flagstaff, Ariz. reports a Canadian man has been federally charged with spray painting his name on a geological formation at Grand Canyon National Park.

According to a complaint filed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office at Flagstaff, visitors to the South Rim called park rangers Monday afternoon to report a person spray painting on Duck on a Rock between Grandview and Yaqui points just off the East Rim Drive.

The responding ranger later reported seeing the word “Luci” in bright red spray paint while the tour leader for National Geographic Tours of Washington pointed out a person who had done the deed.

The ranger made contact with the person identified by the tour leader.

The man, Lucien Lionel Chenier of Ottawa, went on to say he had thrown the can of spray paint into the canyon and said he had only gotten to “Luci,” when he was apprehended, but had intended to write his full name.

When the ranger asked Chenier why he wanted to do this, he replied by saying it was important for future tourists to see his name 20 years from now and wonder who it was, court documents attest.

The current estimate is it will cost roughly $8,000 for the graffiti to be removed from the structure.

Chenier was charged with one count of damaging U.S. property in excess of $1,000 and one charge of littering.

(SALT LAKE CITY)-This fall, the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources is offering hunters in the state, 15 years and under, two opportunities to hunt various upland game birds before more seasoned hunters will get a crack at it.

As of Saturday September 17, these young hunters will be given the opportunity to hunt chukar and Hungarian partridges and on Saturday October 15, they will be afforded the same privilege for pheasants and quail.

Justin Dolling, the upland game and migratory game bird coordinator with the DWR says conducting special youth days is a great way for youth in the state to get interested and involved in hunting.

Dolling also says since adults will not be given this same privilege as youth, they can help the young hunters get in the right habitat to find their prey and offer them any other assistance they may need for a successful hunt.

To participate in this hunt, youths must be no older than 15 as of September 17 and be graduates of the state’s Hunter Education course while also bearing a hunting license.

(GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK, Ariz.)-Officials say a hiker’s body has been found in the Grand Canyon after a pair of backpackers reportedly encountered a man who appeared fatigued on a long, rugged trail.

The Arizona Republic reports last Sunday, rangers sent a helicopter along the Tanner Trail after two people said that days earlier they had seen a man exhausted and unprepared to hike in the triple-digit heat which was prevalent in the area, but remained insistent on ensuing in his trek.

The incident occurred last Friday, authorities say, with the pair of hikers not seeing the man again, but passing his pack and jotting down permit information, which was given to rangers.

Searchers found a body matching the man’s description in a wash Sunday and presently, his name has not yet been released.

The Coconino County (Ariz.) medical examiner is later expected to determine the official cause of death.

(SALT LAKE CITY)-Tuesday, per a report in The Salt Lake Tribune, the Utah Supreme Court affirmed the constitutionality of a search warrant used by police to obtain a blood-draw following a fatal traffic accident in the Salt Lake Valley in 2007.

The ruling appertains to 36-year-old Chanzy Walker of West Valley City who is presently serving a 15-year prison term for having methamphetamine in her system when sideswiping a truck, while crashing head-on into another vehicle and killing 50-year-old Frank O. Garcia.

Walker’s defense attorneys appealed her conviction, claiming police made no mention of impairment and had no probable cause to obtain the search warrant.

However, Justice Mark Durrant, writing for a unanimous court, said the magistrate who signed this warrant relied on a number of facts, including that on the morning of May 24, 2007 when Walker, who was driving southbound on U-111 near 5900 South, crossed the center line for an “unknown reason.”

Walker’s vehicle then struck a trailer being towed by a northbound vehicle and struck a second northbound vehicle, driven by Garcia, who died at the scene.

Walker later told authorities she had no remembrance of the crash.

Police also determined Walker’s drivers’ license had been revoked for drinking alcohol and she was restricted to driving a vehicle featuring an alcohol interlock device.

At the time of the incident, however, she was driving a vehicle owned by her boss.

In November 2008, Walker pleaded guilty in 3rd District Court to a second-degree felony count, resulting in causing a death while driving in a negligent manner with a controlled substance in the body, a third-degree felony.

At the time, Walker reserved the right to challenge this search warrant.

(CHAMPAIGN, Ill.)-Researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign say the key to squelching bullying is to figure out what instigates a victim’s response to such behavior.

Karen Rudolph, a psychology professor at the university who started the study that was published Tuesday said children have social goals they may not even recognize, which drives how they react and if parents or teachers can discover what instigates a victim’s response, the chance exists that interventions can be established to reduce the negative response emanating from the situation.

Rudolph further goes on to say that the recurrence of such behavior can even be stopped if these practices are followed.

Rudolph’s study, which was featured in the journal Child Development, also states a paradigm shift in social goals may also occur as subsequent responses may prove more productive.

According to an i-Safe American survey of students, roughly 58 percent of kids admit to never tell an adult when they have been the victim of bullying.

Additionally, a survey on Web site bullyingstatistics.org cites numbers which reveal 15 percent of all students absent from school stay away because they fear bullying.

Rudolph’s research team noted three types of social goals playing a role in the matter: improving and developing relationships, demonstrating their competence and the courage to stand up for themselves.

The second social goal perhaps plays the largest role, they noted, as “cool kids” feel the need to retaliate, or if they are the bullies, to assert themselves, while the rest of the kids, also desiring to be “cool” fly under the radar and don’t advocate for the victim lest they should be deemed “losers.”

Douglas F. Goldsmith, the executive director of the Salt Lake City-based Children’s Center which provides mental health services to young children, stated his belief that bullying flourishes because of a “system” issue.

Goldsmith further clarified by saying “tattling behavior” is taboo among kids and the best way to repel bullying is to use humor instead of crying or other negative emotions because this only causes the bully to continue the behavior.

This study was supported by the University of Illinois’ Research Board as well as the National Institute of Mental Health of Bethesda, Md.

(MONROE) – Sevier County deputies are investigating the burglary of a camp trailer on Monroe Mountain belonging to a Centerfield man. Deputies said the burglars broke into the trailer sometime last week and stole a spotting scope, range finder and tripod. The trailer belongs to David Christensen of Centerfield. A sheriff’s report said that Christensen had parked his trailer just south of the towers on Monroe Peak. Sevier County deputies also took a report on a phone scam where the caller claimed to be the grandson of a local woman. The woman hung up on the caller because her grandson had just visited her. The sheriff’s office says such calls need to be reported to authorities because in most instances, the caller claims to be in jail or in need of money and scams the recipient.

(SALT LAKE CITY)-Late Tuesday, Utah Lieutenant Governor Greg Bell named a new chief of staff as Cody Stewart will replace Paul Neuenschwander, who has retired after serving in this role for two years.

Stewart, a Utah native, has worked in Washington for the past decade, including as legislative director for state representative Rob Bishop as well as an executive director of the Congressional Western Caucus.

Bell said he is elated to work with Stewart while Stewart’s responsibilities will include overseeing the daily operations of the lieutenant governor’s office and will advise Bell on policy issues.

He will also serve as Bell’s spokesman.

(SALT LAKE CITY)-While Utah has traditionally boasted high graduation rates for high school students, there is a possibility things could plummet without any changes occurring in the classroom.

According to a report from ABC-4 in Salt Lake City, the Federal Government is now forcing states to calculate graduation levels by using a new, standardized method.

Under the new guidelines, students who take longer than four years, or receive a GED, will not be considered graduates while dropouts will also be accounted for as an ignominious mark against graduation numbers.

Emily Tew, a data manager with the Utah State Office of Education says a change in definition could lead to a change in graduation numbers.

Presently, half of the states in the U.S. are using definitions which would no longer be applicable and are using the Leaver calculation methods to determine graduation rates.

For instance, if a school should have 100 graduates, but 10 students dropped out along the way, 100 would then be divided by 110, creating an inflated graduation rate.

Tew says the state has not done that, but was also not counting students who had disappeared from the system.

Additionally, the new guidelines also require schools to be accountable for students that transfer to other schools and Tew stated documentation can also prove to be labor-intensive.

These numbers will start being counted as part of the No Child Left Behind benchmarks as of the 2012-13 school year.

(WASHINGTON)-Wednesday, the Department of Justice filed a civil antitrust lawsuit to block AT&T Inc.’s proposed acquisition of T-Mobile USA Inc.

The department said the proposed $39 billion transaction would substantially lessen competition for mobile wireless telecommunications services throughout the United States, resulting in higher prices, poorer quality services, fewer choices and less innovative products for the millions of American consumers who rely on mobile wireless services in their everday lives.

The department’s lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, is seeking to prevent AT&T from acquiring T-Mobile from Deutsche Telekom AG of Bonn, Germany.

(MONROE) – A Sandy man committed suicide at the Monroe City cemetery Monday night. Sevier County Sheriff’s deputies were in the process of performing a welfare check on an individual who was suicidal from the Sandy area and when an officer arrived, he heard a gunshot and called for medical assistance. Deputies said that 57-year old Steven Winberg was found in his truck with a self-inflicted gunshot wound at about 8:45pm. He had been reported missing earlier in the day by his daughter. Winberg was taken to the Sevier Valley Medical Center in Richfield and pronounced dead.

(MONROE) – Sevier County Sheriff’s deputies responded to a lightning-caused fire on Washburnville Road north of Monroe last night. A sheriff’s report said the Monroe Fire Department was dispatched to 1130 North Washburnville Road to put out the fire that ignited several antique farming implements. Deputies said that a number of the pieces were destroyed but had not been usable for quite some time. No other animals or property was destroyed due to the fire and crews were able to quickly douse the flames.

(POSSUM KINGDOM LAKE, Texas)-Wildfires sweeping through parts of Texas and Oklahoma have destroyed dozens of homes and forced hundreds into evacuation, although officials do not yet know what caused the blazes.

A summer heat wave has descended upon the Southwest the past few months while the region has not yet had sufficient rainfall within the 2011 calendar year which have left conditions tailor-made for fires: scorched ground and dry vegetation.

The U.S. Forest Service warned the weather, which is showing no signs of relenting, at least through Thursday September 8, according to accuweather.com, could also squelch efforts to contain this rapidly-growing wildfire in North Texas that destroyed at least 20 homes in a lakeside community Tuesday.

Additionally, the fire threatened 125 homes in the Possum Kingdom Lake Area, roughly 75 miles west of Fort Worth, Texas.

This past spring, significant blazes in the same region torched hundreds of thousands of acres, destroying 160 homes.

At Oklahoma City, Deputy Fire Chief Marc Woodard stated a preliminary assessment of this area early Wednesday indicated the fire had burned roughly 5,000 acres and destroyed about 20 homes on the city’s outskirts.

Red Cross spokesman Rust Surette stated several hundred homes were also evacuated Tuesday.

Battalion Chief Felton Martin said it is likely this blaze was instigated by blowing embers, but had generally been suppressed by late Tuesday evening.

National Weather Service meteorologist Nathan Dunn said temperatures reached 106 degrees Tuesday throughout much of North Texas as winds gusted up to 28 miles per hour and for the rest of the week, much of the region is expected to be upward of 100 degrees.

The Texas fire had grown up to 3,500 acres as of Tuesday although officials were hoping for things to lessen by Wednesday afternoon.

(SALT LAKE CITY)-A new report card shows that in the subsequent decade since 9/11, recommendations have not been implemented sufficiently in the interim.

The report, which emanated from the Washington-based Bipartisan Policy Center, says that while the country is undoubtedly safer than it was 10 years ago, it also indicates nine of the commission’s 41 recommendations in 2004, remain concerns.

The biggest issues, which included a lack of sufficiently reliable explosive detection equipment, and difficulty in spotting concealed weapons on people.

The report has lauded the improvements of intelligence sharing while citing the significant progress made in security screening endeavors at airports.

The Transportation Security Administration says it has continued to improve its airport screening processes while recently it unveiled new screening software which cuts down on anatomy of individuals shown while also alerting agents of potential problems.

The reports states the director of national intelligence still does not have sufficient power and not all states have yet met federal standards in creating standardized or secure IDs.

The report represents an improvement from a similar report card issued by former members of the commission last year while the federal government is also ratcheting up security around the country in preparation for the 10-year anniversary of 9/11 while conducting confidential briefings with state and local law enforcement organizations.

However, officials say there is no specific indication that a terror plot against the U.S. is brewing.

Wednesday, an intelligence official told The Associated Press Americans can expect more security at airports, mass transit stations, U.S. borders, government buildings and major athletic events, such as the opening week slate of games in the NFL on September 11, throughout the month.

The FBI and Homeland Security Department have also been briefing state and local law enforcement around the country on various ways to enhance security and be aware of potential threats.

The AP reports these intelligence briefings are routine, but the recent focus has primarily been on 9/11’s 10-year anniversary.

(WASHINGTON)-Despite being handcuffed in his ability to create jobs via direct spending, President Barack Obama is considering measures to encourage the private sector to free up its cash reserves, while hiring more workers to ease the nation’s unemployment crush.

As Obama prepares to unveil a new jobs agenda next week, his aides are in the process of reviewing options which would provide tax exceptions to employees who expand their payrolls.

This approach is a more indirect effort to spur the economy while relying less upon government intervention and massive public works projects.

Among proposals presently circulating in the White House are a $33 billion tax credit that Obama first proposed early last year but that Congress has since reduced to a smaller one-year package.

Under one of the plan’s versions, employers would receive a tax credit of up to $5,000, subtracted from their share of federal payroll taxes, for every new hire.

White House officials have since cautioned the overall job plan remains subject to change.

The tax credit, however, remains a generally untested idea while in March 2010, Congress passed a version, known as the HIRE Act, which provided $13 billion in tax credits to qualified employers who hired new workers, but no government data exists to track its success.

While promising a major jobs package, Obama still remains restricted by budget cuts and a tight debt ceiling he has played a role in negotiating.

Consequently, economists predict while the president’s initiatives could eliminate significant “drag” upon the economy while maintaining the status quo, this will be insufficient to take it to a higher plane.

Nevertheless, on Wednesday, Obama still predicted his plan could instigate the economy’s growth from 1 percent to 1.5 percent more swiftly.

Obama’s job package is designed to supplement other proposals in the picture which already exist, including free trade agreements with South Korea, Colombia and Panama, as well as the renewal of a highway construction bill.

Later Wednesday, it was expected Obama will call upon Congress to pass federal highway legislation before the current law expires September 30.

While seeking to blunt congressional partisanship, Obama will be joined by the leaders of two occasionally warring factions, Richard Trumka, the president of AFL-CIO and David Chavern, the CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Minimally, Obama’s job plan will call upon Congress to extend current payroll tax cuts as well as jobless benefits as they spend money for new construction projects and offer incentives to businesses as they attempt to hire more workers.

The president is calling for the extension of a one-year payroll tax cut for workers and unemployment benefits that expire in January, at a combined cost of $175 billion.

Additionally, Obama has promoted the emergence of an infrastructure bank, which would be seeded by the government, yet fed by a private investment to pay for major road, bridge and other public construction endeavors.