Crossing state Route 138 near the new Old Mill Elementary School remain undecided as Stansbury Park officials look for funding and community partners to make the project a reality.

The Stansbury Park Service Agency received a $200,000 grant from the federal Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement program toward the environmental study, engineering and design of the underpass. SPSA manager Randall Jones said he has heard conflicting reports on whether using the grant for the preliminary work on the project would require it to follow stricter federal standards during construction.

The federal guidelines would also make the underpass project more expensive, according to Jones. He said he believes the underpass could be built for $300,000 to $400,000, but using federal funding could push the cost closer to $1 million.

Accepting CMAQ funds for the planning of the project could allow the service agency to pursue additional federal funding, but would likely push construction of the underpass out three to four years, Jones said.

SPSA board chairman Neil Smart said a study completed by the Utah Department of Transportation on the section of SR-138 in the area of the Benson Gristmill recommended only an at-grade crosswalk and a possible pedestrian crossing signal. Jones said the state told him the area does not have enough history of unsafe conditions — including accidents or fatalities — to require an underpass or pedestrian bridge.

If the service agency could complete the underpass for the estimated $400,000, it has the available funds to cover the cost, according to Jones. It would, however, push off other planned construction projects for the service agency, he said.

“It takes away from your proposed future pool and some other things,” Jones said. “It’s going to put that out farther.”

Jones suggested reaching out to local businesses about sponsoring some of the cost for the underpass and board member Rod Thompson asked about using impact fees from developments on the north side of SR-138 to fund some of the cost. Jones said there is an anticipated $2 million in impact fees scheduled through future development but it would be difficult to prove the underpass would qualify as providing the same level of service as required through impact fees.

Thompson also asked about trading the federal CMAQ funds for state funds to loosen the guidelines on construction, but Jones said the federal requirements would follow the CMAQ funds even when traded for state money.

Board member Mike Johnson contested the safety concerns for pedestrian crossing on SR-138 would affect the county and school district once Old Mill Elementary is completed.

“It’s a problem that needs to be solved, but in my mind it’s a problem that a number of entities need to be helping to solve, not just us,” Johnson said. “It’s a school district issue, it’s a county issue, it’s a state issue.”

Board member Gary Jensen echoed Johnson’s sentiment before the board agreed to have Jones further investigate the requirements of the federal funds before making a final decision.

“It seems to me like we’re trying to shoulder all of this when there’s other entities that need to be involved in this as well,” Jensen said.

A Tooele man is facing felony charges in connection with a knife being pulled on students at Tooele High School on April 10.

Andrew D. Horn Moreno, 19, is charged with two counts of third-degree felony aggravated assault and misdemeanor counts of possession of a dangerous weapon on school premises and criminal trespass on school property.

A Tooele City police officer working at Tooele High was notified that a group of students had a knife pulled on them, according to a probable cause statement. The reporting teacher identified the suspect, later identified as Moreno, walking west on Vine Street.

When the officer caught up with Moreno, he said he was just coming from the high school, the statement said. The officer asked if Moreno had been in an argument with students and Moreno said he was speaking with a specific student.

Four Tooele High students, including the victim, were interviewed by Tooele City police, the probable cause statement said. Each of the students said Moreno came to the school near the portables on the west side of the property to speak with the victim and an argument began.

Following the argument, the students began to walk away and the victim said Moreno pulled out a knife, the statement said. The victim described the knife as having a pushbutton to open and a blue handle.

After Moreno was taken into custody, a knife matching the victim’s description was found about 100 feet from the portables and school property, the probable cause statement said. It was collected and booked into evidence.

A Murray woman and a Park City man are facing criminal charges in 3rd District Court after a traffic stop near Knolls revealed counterfeit money, drugs and stolen bank cards.

Mickenzey Bennion, 27, and Abraham Ortiz, 33, are both charged with third-degree felony unlawful acquisition or possession of a financial transaction card and third-degree felony possession of a forgery device, as well as misdemeanor counts of possession or use of a controlled substance and use or possession of drug paraphernalia.

A Utah Highway Patrol trooper saw the vehicle driven by Ortiz illegally parked on the northbound lane to Interstate 80 at Knolls and initiated a traffic stop at 6:30 p.m. on April 10, a probable cause statement said. After initial contact with Ortiz and Bennion, the trooper found both had a pair of outstanding warrants and they were arrested.

The trooper performed an inventory of the vehicle and located a large amount of cash inside the sunglass holder between the visors, the statement said. The cash turned out to be counterfeit and the trooper contacted the State Bureau of Investigations.

During the search the trooper also located two bank cards not belonging to Ortiz or Bennion amongst their personal belongings, the probable cause statement said. Two electronic scales, multiple syringes containing heroin and a baggy of heroin were found in two different bags within the vehicle.

Bennion and Ortiz were transported to the Utah Highway Patrol Tooele office for questioning by a SBI agent, the statement said. They were then transported to the Tooele County Detention Center.

A fire near Bauer Road was sparked after an explosion at an excavation site north of the Stockton Bar Monday afternoon.

A generator powering a conveyor belt at the Harper Companies’ gravel pit was involved in the explosion, which caught an adjacent trailer on fire, according to Tooele City Fire Chief Bucky Whitehouse. The cause of the explosion is still under investigation.

Fire crews from Stockton Fire Department, Tooele City Fire Department and Tooele Army Depot Fire Department arrived to battle the blaze, which was reported around noon. Crews were able to knock down and completely extinguish the fire by about 12:30 p.m.

At one point, scanner reports identified that tires at the excavation site had caught fire.

Whitehouse said sand and water used to extinguish the fire made it difficult to determine the exact circumstances that led to the explosion, but witnesses reported hearing an explosion.

Grantsville City filed a lawsuit against Tooele County and Deseret Peak Special Service District in 3rd District Court last Friday, alleging a breach of contract in an agreement to provide sewer and water to Deseret Peak Complex and Utah Motorsports Campus.

The lawsuit seeks not less than $1.2 million in total compensatory and punitive damages.

Grantsville City has provided water to Deseret Peak since the two entities signed an agreement in January 2003, according to the lawsuit.

Grantsville City alleged the county failed to complete agreed upon facilities, exceeded its expected water consumption, did not provide sufficient water rights and failed to read meters or bill water users on its properties, the lawsuit said. During this time, Tooele City provided sewer and wastewater services to the recreation complex.

Grantsville City and the county completed a new interlocal agreement in March 2014 in which the city would permanently provide sewer and water services to Deseret Peak Complex, the former Miller Motorsports Park and the former Reckitt Benckiser facility. The county would also entertain an annexation petition. The Tooele County Commission and Grantsville City Council unanimously approved the arrangement.

The 2014 agreement said the current and future water and sewer needs for the complex and racetrack were “best served on a permanent basis by the City through the annexation of the annexation area into the city.” Following annexation, the agreement stated the affected properties would be withdrawn from the Deseret Peak Special Service District.

In November 2014, Grantsville City annexed the agreed upon properties with the certificate of annexation signed by the lieutenant governor.

The agreement called for the transfer of county water rights up to 312 acre-feet of water, or about 101 million gallons, to the city. Under the agreement, the city would install a sewer main along Sheep Lane to connect the Giza lift station.

The lawsuit filed Friday said the county and special service district failed to honor the 2014 agreement on a number of different fronts, including a failure to remove the annexation area from the special service district and not transferring the agreed-upon water facilities and easements. The city also said the county did not provide the necessary deeds, sewer facilities and easements, as well as failed to perform other obligations under the contract.

The lawsuit also said the recent agreements between Tooele County and Tooele City and Stansbury Park Improvement District show “a positive and unequivocal intent to not render performance under the Contract.”

On March 15, the county entered into an agreement to have Tooele City continue providing wastewater and sewer service to Deseret Peak Complex and Utah Motorsports Campus.

The county also approved on March 14 an agreement with Stansbury Park Improvement District to establish the special service district as the regional wastewater provider for northern Tooele Valley. The agreement included providing sewer service to Deseret Peak and Utah Motorsports Campus as justification for the regional sewer network.

Grantsville City’s lawsuit said the county violated the 2014 agreement by issuing the stop work notice on the Sheep Lane sewer line and stopping the city from providing sewer service to the properties. The county and special service district denied the right of the city to perform its contractual obligations “by concealing and misrepresenting its intentions to prevent completion of the Sheep Lane Project”, the lawsuit alleged.

Grantsville City awarded an engineering contract for the Sheep Lane sewer main in March 2014 and a construction contract was awarded in December 2015, according to the lawsuit. Construction on the $280,000 project began in January 2016 but was halted just prior to completion at the request of the county commission.

In a Feb. 3, 2016 letter from Tooele County Attorney Scott Broadhead, the commissioners requested “no connection occur of the new sewer line to the sewer line on the Deseret Peak property without prior approval of the Commissioners.” The letter said the commissioners were concerned about the connection of the sewer lines and a possible disruption to the Deseret Peak facility.

In the lawsuit, the city also seeks payment for the water it has provided to Deseret Peak Complex under the agreement and to require the county to convey water rights sufficient to cover county land and facilities within the annexation area.

Grantsville City also requested an injunction requiring the county to perform its requirements under the 2014 agreement, including connecting to the city’s sewer and wastewater system, while paying city rates for the system. If the court does not order the county to connect to the sewer service, Grantsville City requested the city be allowed to terminate the contract and stop providing water to the recreation complex.

The lawsuit also challenged the Tooele City and Stansbury Park Improvement District agreements on the grounds Grantsville City has the right to control sewage facilities within its boundaries under state law. The properties in the annexation area fall within the city’s boundaries and Grantsville City has not allowed other agencies to provide sewer service.

During a Dec. 21, 2016 meeting, the Grantsville City Council unanimously rejected a disconnection request from the Tooele County Commission to return property to unincorporated status, including Deseret Peak Complex and Utah Motorsports Campus. The county, which submitted the disconnection request last September, could challenge the city’s decision to deny the request in district court.

In a news release issued Monday, Grantsville City outlined the reasoning behind the lawsuit, highlighting the breach of contract and the county entering into competing contracts with Tooele City and SPID.

“Grantsville City has enjoyed a long and cordial relationship with the County, and the City is pleased to have the Deseret Peak Complex as part of our City,” the release said. “The City is committed to providing both water and sewer service to the Complex. We are optimistic we can work out the issues we have regarding public utility service to the Complex, and continue to build the Complex into a world-class facility.”

Requests from the Tooele County Commission on the lawsuit were not returned by press time Tuesday.

My intention was to write an Out and About describing what I like about mornings, as someone who views them as the best part of the day, with many fond memories attached to waking up before the sun rises.

So, of course, I ended up running to my car this morning like my house was on fire — and I was on fire, leaving almost as late as I intended to arrive at work.

While I still believe I’m a morning person by all accounts, I will occasionally have a slip-up day, like this morning. After staying up a bit too late working on a story for today’s edition, I slipped into bed for a few hours of sleep before arriving at work early.

Prior to nodding off, I checked my alarm clock not once, but twice, to ensure it was properly set. Satisfied, I slipped off to sleep almost immediately.

When I awoke, I was immediately aware it seemed a little too bright in the bedroom for 5:30 in the morning. Grabbing my red Lego brick alarm clock, I saw it read 6:42 a.m.

I literally jumped out of a bed in a flurry of impolite words, waking up my wife and likely the dogs in the next room before dashing about to complete an abbreviated version of my morning routine. Minutes later I was out the door and on my way to Tooele.

It doesn’t happen often, but apparently some mornings I just … turn my alarm clock off, apparently without waking up, to grab an extra hour or so of sleep. It’s easy to skip your morning coffee with that much adrenaline in your system once you realize you’re late.

I’m actually pretty paranoid about waking up on time when I set my alarm, too. Most mornings, I’ll be lying in bed awake waiting on the alarm to ring, or wake up to check the time, only to see it’s a minute or two before it should go off.

On days when I need to wake up especially early — before 5 a.m. — I usually naturally wake up every half hour or so to ensure I haven’t missed my alarm.

So today was an ironic — and unusual — morning for me to turn off my alarm. I suppose I should get out of the habit of never snoozing it, but I feel that sets a dangerous precedent.

Being able to wake up early and be ready to take on the day is something I usually pride myself on. It’s amazing how much you can accomplish in those wee hours before everyone else is up and the world is quiet, dark and peaceful.

I like taking my time in the morning, too. I’d rather leisurely go about my routine by losing a bit of sleep than stay in bed and rush around.

As was the point of my original Out and About, I’ve come to appreciate the events that happen early in the day. Triathlons, running relays, 15K races and canoe marathons all start at the crack of dawn.

My family is all early risers, so we would wake up at 5 a.m. to go swimming at a local pool or I would run with my dad while there was little to no traffic on the road near our house. I have lots of positive connections to waking up on the wrong side of 6 a.m.

My wife, however, could likely go the rest of her life without seeing the a.m. hours ever again. Sometimes on the weekends, she’ll sleep in until almost noon; I’ve never managed to stay in bed more than a few minutes beyond 10 a.m. on days I’ve stayed up far too late.

So I should probably apologize for waking her up this morning, a time when I usually try to navigate the house like a shadow. Sorry!

More than 1.2 million people from around the nation watched April the giraffe give birth to a healthy male calf on a live stream from Animal Adventure Park in Harpursville, New York.

While there won’t be a baby giraffe, an equally adorable collection of chicks, lambs, puppies and more will be on hand for Baby Animal Days at the Clark Historic Farm on April 29 and May 6 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is $3 for adults, $2 for children and $12 for families.

Friends of Clark Historic Farm Vice President Susan Johnsen said the typical favorite baby animals — ducklings, bunnies and more — will be joined by a baby yak, camel and mini pony. In addition to the opportunity to pet the little animals, there will be games, demonstrations and educational opportunities.

Johnsen said new featured events include a fairy gardening class from the Utah State University extension and demonstrations from the Future Farmers of America on dairy, raising chickens and other agricultural topics.

The performers from the Children’s Sociable in March will be back for encore performances during Baby Animal Days as well, Johnsen said.

Maypole dance performances will return to the event on May 6 at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., as well as Grantsville Derby Days, featuring the Kentucky Derby will be on a big screen with stick horse races for children.

Food trucks at the event will provide an opportunity for lunch, including Waffle Love and Navajo Taco.

“I think it’ll be a lot of fun,” Johnsen said.

Event organizers are expecting thousands of visitors to the Clark Farm during the two-day event, with local attendees and also Salt Lake Valley residents making the trip.

“We think we’ll have at least 3,000 people,” Johnsen said. “We’re hoping for more.”

All admission proceeds will go to the Clark Historic Farm. The farm is located at 378 W. Clark St., in Grantsville.

The Grantsville City Council reviewed on Wednesday a potential financing option for its multi-million dollar project to replace water and sewer lines under Main Street.

Amy Ivy from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development discussed the terms of a 2.75 percent interest loan over 40 years, which is available to communities with a population under 10,000 people.

While Grantsville has likely eclipsed the population figure, the USDA uses the 2010 Census figures, which lists the population at 8,893.

Due to the city’s median income, it doesn’t qualify for grants through the USDA, Ivy said. The 40-year term of the loan is longer than typical, however, and low interest.

The city is looking at a total project cost for Main Street to be approximately $8 million, with the city paying $2 million up front, according to Grantsville City Mayor Brent Marshall.

To receive the USDA funds, the city would need to complete engineering and environmental studies within the federal department’s guidelines and interim financing during construction. Once the project was complete, the USDA loan would commence.

The city intends to replace the water and sewer lines in conjunction with a reconstruction of Main Street by the Utah Department of Transportation in 2019. Marshall said the city’s cast iron water and sewer lines are old and in poor condition.

“Last week, we fixed a water leak on Main Street,” he said. “We fixed one today, we fixed one a couple weeks ago. It’s just continuous as this cast iron line is failing.”

To afford the multi-million dollar project, the city is reviewing a new tiered water rate, which would mean an increase in cost to users in the future. Marshall said the USDA could provide guidance on the water rate increase if the department provides financing on the project.

In addition to the water and sewer lines, Marshall said the city could add the replacement of the North Well to the same loan. The project, expected to cost about $1 million, would replace the North Well, which is underperforming with a damaged well casing.

If not included in the same project, the well replacement would be pushed off until 2026, seven years beyond previously scheduled replacement date.

“It makes sense to me to combine it,” Councilman Tom Tripp said.

The city council could also look to combine other projects into the loan, such as the replacement of water and sewer lines on Burmester Road, Marshall said.

When Teri Critchlow took a quick break Wednesday afternoon, it was a well-deserved bit of rest.

She had been up since 4:30 a.m., awoken by a massive cottonwood tree that fell and destroyed the woodworking shop of her husband, Neldon. A flurry of family and neighbors ferried out a mixture of broken and intact tools, while chainsaws began to work on the massive bulk of the tree.

Critchlow said the tree, which is believed to be more than 100 years old, had been leaning east as it aged. It was a surprise when it fell in a southerly direction, landing directly on the rear of the woodshop, she said.

“It could have been worse,” Critchlow said. “Not one person was hurt, not one animal was hurt.”

The Critchlows had a horse barn and paddock that narrowly avoided the path of the tree, with the horses moved to a different corral while the tree was cleaned up.

The massive cottonwood tree may date back to the days of the original Grantsville Fort, according to Critchlow. She said the tree appeared to still be alive, as it had budded out last spring, though much later than another cottonwood on their property.

While the tree fell during the rainstorm that began Tuesday evening, there weren’t high winds during the time the tree toppled, Critchlow. A second tree fell to the north, landing on a section of a neighbor’s fence and causing minimal damage to the soffit on their home.

“There may have been wind but I didn’t really hear wind,” Critchlow said. “And when I came out, I didn’t feel any then.”

The woodworking shop where Neldon Critchlow built furniture and other pieces was full of power tools, hand tools, wood and unfinished projects. The Critchlows garage was full of tools, hardware and other recovered items from the shop by Wednesday afternoon, with more still being pulled from the wreckage.

A band saw and table saw were among the equipment pulled from the wreckage in seemingly good shape, but additional tools were still buried or damaged.

“So we’re trying to salvage whatever tools we can before we get more rain tonight, so thank God I have awesome brothers and neighbors,” Teri Critchlow said.

Somewhere under the tree, which sported a trunk about 7 feet in diameter, was an ash table intended for the breakfast nook, Critchlow said. Another victim of the collapse was a cherry china hutch, which was nearly completed.

“All it needed was the glass and the doors and the hardware,” she said.

The pieces of a rocking horse for their granddaughter and a graduation gift were discovered in the wreckage, with the possibility of repair. The cleanup crew was looking for somewhere to put wood not yet used in projects that would be damaged by upcoming rainstorms.

Teri Critchlow was able to get the day off from work after telling her boss about the tree, but said Neldon was unable to, so the help for cleanup efforts was a big boost.

“We’ve saved a lot, thanks to everybody’s help,” Critchlow said. “I mean, there’s no way I could have done this by myself without everybody coming today. A couple phone calls and before you know it, there’s tons of people here. Thank God for small towns.”

If the tree does date back to the days of the Grantsville Fort, it would be older than 100 years. The fort was built by pioneers starting in 1853 and was finished the next year, according to the book “History of Utah’s Tooele County” by the Tooele County Daughters of Utah Pioneers.

Stockton Police Chief Travis Romney.

When his tenure began, Stockton Police Chief Travis Romney had one goal — to improve communication between the police department and the community.

Just over a year later, Romney said he has been successful in achieving his goal and building a strong relationship with the community and law enforcement partners.

“It’s been amazing,” he said. “I absolutely love it here. This is the type of community that my wife and I ultimately wanted to end up in.”

The Romneys moved to Stockton last June and he said community support has enabled the police department, which is Romney and three reserve officers, to better serve residents. A part-time officer may join the police force later this year, according to Romney.

“I mean, the people of Stockton have just been absolutely amazing,” he said “No longer are (they) people that I just serve, they become my friends and neighbors.”

Romney believes better communication with Stockton residents has created an unexpected side effect — an increase in police calls in the town through the first quarter of 2017.

While the department responded to 248 calls in 2015 and 265 in 2016, Romney said the department is up to 165 calls as of the morning of April 20. The number of arrests seem on pace to outpace previous years as well, with 28 so far this year, compared to 33 in 2015 and 51 in 2016.

The department is handling more calls and making more arrests, but Romney said he doesn’t believe the increase is indicative of rising crime in the town.

“It’s not because I think that there’s a crime wave,” Romney said. “I think that we’re actually handling the calls, whereas before, the Tooele County Sheriff’s Department was having to step in a little bit more and respond to calls.”

Previous police chiefs have not lived in the Town of Stockton and sheriff’s deputies would step in to provide enforcement when the chief was out of the area, according to Romney. He said living in town has enabled him to respond to calls at all time of day, including a vehicle accident at 4:30 a.m. last Thursday.

“So I believe the calls have always been there, it’s just we’re now handling them,” he said.

Improved trust with citizens has led to quick response for crimes in the community, according to Romney.

In one case, a resident noticed a man carrying a five-gallon bucket and walking along the side of the road, Romney said. When the resident questioned the man, he said he was waiting for a ride, but took off at almost a jog after the interaction.

The resident called Stockton police after he considered the interaction suspicious, Romney said.

“Being such a short way away, we were able to find him at the gas station and put it together that he had just burglarized a home and had about $2,500 worth of jewelry and valuables,” he said. “So we were able to recover those and get them back to the family.”

In another case, a resident called dispatch to request police intervention in a domestic situation and requested Stockton police, even though Romney was in Salt Lake County for a family matter. The resident chose to wait for Romney instead of sheriff’s deputies, Romney said.

While Stockton police are trying to handle more calls in the community, the relationship with the Tooele County Sheriff’s Office has also benefited, according to Romney. He said Tooele County Sheriff Paul Wimmer has been a friend and mentor.

“I’ve been doing small-town law enforcement basically my entire career and so I’m used to going on calls and not knowing when backup is going to show up,” Romney said. “It could be 20 minutes away, 35 minutes away. Here it’s been a lot better. Like I said, our relationship with the Tooele County Sheriff’s Department has been amazing.”

Stockton Town Mayor Mark Whitney called his police chief a “great man” and said the town is extremely happy to have chosen Romney.

“He’s the best chief that we’ve actually had here in the Town of Stockton,” Whitney said. “He’s committed to the town and to the residents. He’s become a great community supporter.”

After several months of discussion, the Tooele County Council of Governments decided not to move ahead with a dispatch special service district during its meeting Thursday night.

The April meeting was the date when COG representatives were expected to return with a decision from their respective governments on moving ahead on a special service district or remaining with yearly contracts from the Tooele County Sheriff’s Office.

If COG had pursued a special service district, it would have needed to be put on the ballot in November for a final decision by county voters.

The proposed dispatch special service district would have cost taxpayers $36.04 on a home valued at $200,000 in 2018, according to Cody Deeter from Lewis, Young, Robertson and Burningham. Deeter created 10-year cost projections for different scenarios involving the special service district or paying by usage, which is the current status quo.

Tooele City Councilman Brad Pratt said his city council discussed the proposed special service district in length before unanimously voting against it. Councilman Scott Wardle said the latest contract from the sheriff’s office, with a 1.5 percent increase, was appreciated.

“The sheriff has brought those costs much more in line with where we were 10 years ago,” Wardle said. “I think our increase was just over 1.5 percent. We have continued to feel that if we can stay within 1 and 3 percent on that contract, it’s a viable contract.”

Grantsville City Mayor Brent Marshall said the information Deeter provided gave insight into dispatch, with his city also supporting the status quo. He said the dispatch special service district would result in increased costs for everyone using the county’s system.

“Maybe this was something that just needed to happen as an educational tool to everyone to understand the fees and the costs associated with dispatch,” Marshall said.

After Vernon and Rush Valley aligned with the cities in opposition to the special service district, Stockton Mayor Mark Whitney said he supported the special service district as the town sees an increase in calls.

“We were in favor of the special service district, but we also support the direction that the council chooses,” Whitney said.

Tooele County Commissioner Wade Bitner said there were many unknowns with the special service district and he supported the status quo.

After the informal vote by COG to move away from the special service district, Tooele County Sheriff Paul Wimmer spoke and said he couldn’t promise increases as low as the 1.5 percent for this year in the future. He said he believes the significant raises that occurred as the county’s dispatch department returned to full staffing are behind them.

“One of the challenges we have is as the call load does go up, the need for more dispatchers goes up,” Wimmer said. ”I can already give you the heads up, for my 2018 budget year, I’m requesting another dispatcher.”

Wimmer said former Tooele County Sheriff Lt. Regina Nelson left her post last week for a new job heading Utah County’s dispatch system after there was discussion if she deserved the pay she had received. The new job included a five-figure pay increase, vehicle allowance and fronted 40 hours of personal time, he said.

“Some of our discussions is you’d like us to talk to you before we give our employees raises,” Wimmer said. “I’m not going to do that for you. I’m over dispatch and I’m going to let the market drive that, I’m not going to let the users drive that because we need to provide the best service possible.”

The Utah County Sheriff’s Office report on the officer-involved fatal shooting at the Clean Harbors incinerator in February is in the hands of Tooele County Attorney Scott Broadhead.

The report was turned over last week during a meeting with Utah Highway Patrol, Tooele County Sheriff’s Office and Tooele County Attorney’s Office, according to Utah County Sheriff Sgt. Spencer Cannon.

Broadhead said he will review the police report over the next couple weeks before issuing his report on whether the officer-involved shooting was justified.

The names of the Tooele County Sheriff deputy and Utah Highway Patrol trooper have not been released at the request of their respective agencies, according to the Utah County Sheriff’s Office, which conducted the outside investigation into the officer-involved shooting.

The deputy and trooper have been placed on administrative leave with pay pending the results of the investigation into the shooting, according to Tooele County Sheriff Paul Wimmer.

The name of the man shot by police, Barry Michael Zumwalt, was released two days after he was shot and later died after threatening to blow up propane tanks at Clean Harbors incineration facility in Aragonite.

Zumwalt, 36, was a West Valley City resident and U.S. Navy veteran with a history of mental health struggles, according to Cannon.

The trooper and deputy were dispatched to the remote incineration facility around 6:30 a.m. on Feb. 26 due to threats Zumwalt made to blow up the facility, Wimmer said in February.

Employees at the incineration plant said they approached Zumwalt and asked him to leave after he passed inside the fence at the facility, Cannon said. A confrontation initiated by Zumwalt followed, in which he made threats to blow them up.

The deputy and trooper arrived on scene and Zumwalt did not comply with law enforcement commands, Cannon said. After Zumwalt allegedly threatened the officers with a gun and rifle, they opened fire from about 160 feet away.

Zumwalt was struck and crawled under his vehicle, which the responding officers did not approach, Wimmer said. Due to threats the suspect had made, it was unknown if he had explosives with him or in his vehicle.

A bomb squad called to the scene used a robot but did not receive any response from Zumwalt, according to Wimmer. A SWAT team approached the vehicle and determined the suspect was deceased; no cause of death has been released by any law enforcement agency.

The Stansbury Park Service Agency board will continue to review its options on a proposed underpass at state Route 138 for pedestrian traffic after it was discussed again at its meeting Wednesday evening.

SPSA manager Randall Jones said he confirmed accepting a $200,000 grant from the federal Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement program would require the entire underpass project to meet federal standards. The grant would be used toward the environmental study, engineering and design of the underpass.

Jones said following federal standards would possibly double the cost of the project. While the underpass would be eligible for federal funding, there’s no guarantee the service agency would receive those funds and it would likely take longer to secure funding, he said.

Board member Mike Johnson said he would rather not use the federal funds and instead reach out to other government entities, like the Tooele County School District or Tooele County Commission.

Jones said he already reached out to the school district and was told it has no plans for students to cross SR-138 near Old Mill Elementary School by foot, as school buses will transport students.

Jones also said the availability of UDOT funds for the project may be complicated by the Midvalley Highway, which is scheduled for completion in 2021. He said UDOT officials told him it could be difficult to get state funding for a project on SR-138 when the road is expected to be a county road following completion of the highway.

It’s also possible the service agency could turn over the $200,000 CMAQ funds for funds from UDOT at 85 cents on the dollar, according to Jones.

Jones said he has been asking around to determine what the total cost of the engineering and installation of the underpass would be.

“I’ve got estimates from anywhere from $400,000 to $700,000,” he said.

Board chairman Neil Smart said he has also heard $300,000 as a possible cost for the installation and construction of the underpass.

“That’s not a lot of money in the scheme of things to make sure people are safe,” Johnson said.

Jones said he would wait to deny the federal CMAQ funding until a determination can be made on the possibility of exchanging those funds for UDOT funding.

The trial date for the West Valley City man charged with the 2011 murder of 69-year-old Evelynne Derricott of Tooele has been canceled following an appearance in 3rd District Court on Tuesday.

Rogelio Diaz, Jr., 23, is charged with first-degree felony murder, first-degree felony aggravated burglary and second-degree felony theft. He pleaded not guilty to the charges during arraignment on Nov. 15 before Judge Robert Adkins.

Diaz’s attorney, Edward Brass, made a motion to continue the jury trial, previously scheduled to begin on May 31, for further discovery. The jury trial date was canceled and a scheduling conference was scheduled for June 13 at 9 a.m. before Adkins.

Brass and Chief Deputy Tooele County Attorney Gary Searle originally agreed to a four-day trial during the November arraignment. A new trial date has not been set in the case yet.

Diaz was arrested last May in connection with Derricott’s murder using familial DNA testing, a technique that matches samples of DNA evidence to relatives in the state’s DNA identification system. The state crime lab uses the test to identify a close, male family match in the existing database before police narrow the list of suspects using traditional police work.

Tooele City police believe Diaz was burglarizing Derricott’s Tooele residence when she came home in October 2011. Derricott suffered 14 impact wounds that were consistent with a claw hammer found at the crime scene.

DNA samples found on the steering wheel of Derricott’s car, which was stolen and abandoned in Kearns, and on the hammer matched and belonged to an unidentified male. Tooele City police found a partial match to a relative of Diaz in the state’s DNA database using the familial DNA test.

Police narrowed the list of suspects to Diaz after eliminating family members already in the system and those outside the county. Diaz had a family member living in Tooele at the time of Derricott’s murder and received mail at an address in Kearns near the location her car was recovered.

Detectives recovered a used energy drink can and work gloves discarded by Diaz to gather DNA; the profile matched the male DNA found on the hammer and steering wheel. Tooele City police arrested Diaz after the DNA proved to be a match.

A Tooele man is facing multiple felony charges in two separate court cases after he assaulted two different victims in a 12-hour span beginning late Sunday night.

Steffen Arnold England, 19, is charged in one case with first-degree attempted murder, first-degree felony aggravated robbery, second-degree felony aggravated assault resulting in serious bodily injury and second-degree felony theft.

In the other case, England is charged with first-degree felony aggravated robbery, second-degree felony aggravated assault resulting in serious bodily injury and misdemeanor theft.

According to a probable cause statement, Tooele City police were called to the Kirk Hotel on Vine Street on reports of an aggravated robbery around 11 p.m. on Sunday. The victim was delivering a pizza to England, who they knew from previously attending school together.

After they arrived with the pizza, England told the victim his girlfriend had gone inside for money to pay for the pizza, the statement said. England then grabbed a skateboard and hit the victim several times, causing multiple lacerations that required stitches.

England stole the pizza and the victim’s cell phone before fleeing the area on foot, the statement said. A security camera in the area captured footage of the entire assault.

On Monday morning, Tooele City police were dispatched to another aggravated robbery call on West Vine Street, according to a probable cause statement. Responding officers found the victim covered in blood and they were transported to Mountain West Medical Center by ambulance.

During an interview with detectives, the victim identified England as the assailant, the statement said.

Around 7:55 p.m. that evening, Tooele City police located England and he was brought to the police department for questioning, the statement said. During the interview, England told police “when he mixes methamphetamine with heroin he loses control,” according to the probable cause statement.

England also told officers he had no memory of the assault on the victim in the pizza delivery attack.

When interviewed about the beating on Monday morning, England told police the victim owed him a debt from a previous narcotics deal, the statement said. He said he beat the victim with a metal object and kicked them in the head after they were unconscious on the ground.

England told police he fled the area using the victim’s vehicle following the assault, the statement said.

Charges against England were filed in 3rd District Court on Wednesday and no initial appearance date was set by press time Thursday.

A car caught fire on 200 West in Tooele Tuesday afternoon, sparking a closure of a portion of the street while crews battled the blaze.

The fire was first reported around 1:20 p.m. north of the intersection of 400 North and 200 West, according to Tooele County dispatch reports. The engine compartment of the compact white Honda caught fire first, before spreading into the passenger compartment, according to Tooele City Fire Chief Bucky Whitehouse.

The driver and passengers in the vehicle were able to escape the vehicle unharmed, which was parked on the side of the street, facing southbound. A fire engine from Tooele City Fire Department arrived at 1:28, with crews quickly knocking down the flames pouring out the front of the vehicle.

Firefighters used an external attack on the front of the car before spraying inside the main compartment. The hood of the car was eventually pried open by fire crews to douse any hotspots inside the car’s engine compartment.

Researchers are looking to tweak the model used to predict the spread of groundwater contamination from Tooele Army Depot, according to the review board overseeing restoration efforts during its meeting Wednesday morning.

When comparing the prediction model to the observed plume, the depot’s Restoration Advisory Board and Technical Review Committee found it overestimated the spread of the plume and the concentrations of the primary contaminant trichloroethylene, or TCE.

The current model doesn’t consider a local zone of low permeability or natural degradation of TCE in the aquifer below the depot over time, according to Jon Fenske of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Groundwater contamination at the depot is the result of dumping into an unlined industrial waste lagoon, according to the EPA. Initial EPA reports from 1990 pegged the amount of groundwater contaminated in the plume at 37 billion gallons.

TCE, which is primarily used in solvents, adhesives and paint remover, is a carcinogen and can cause birth defects in high concentrations.

Two factors that may be affecting the spread of contaminants, which stretch about two miles beyond origin sites within the depot, include abiotic and biotic factors.

A study by Toni Mehraban of Parsons Corporation found conditions to support bacteria capable of breaking down TCE, including oxygen and methane, a food source. Mehraban said the aerobic bacteria metabolize the TCE at the same time it consumes the methane.

Degradation of TCE from magnetite found in soils at Tooele Army Depot may also be affecting the spread and concentration of the contaminant in the plume. The reaction degrades TCE without byproducts like vinyl chloride, which have not been detected in the groundwater at the depot.

To better determine if bacteria or magnetite are affecting the plume, five new monitoring wells will be installed in June as part of a microcosm study to look for more evidence of biotic or abiotic factors. The study will last 18 months and determine if natural degradation is occurring and at what rate, so it can be applied to the prediction model.

During Wednesday’s meeting, the review board also received an update on the demolition of a groundwater treatment system. The system was constructed in the early 1990s to pump and treat contaminated water, then return the purified water back into the aquifer using injection wells.

The groundwater treatment system was designed to contain and treat the original plume caused by the wastewater lagoon, but was not affecting other plumes within the depot. Following completion of its mission, the treatment system was decontaminated and torn down.

The extraction and injection wells were capped and abandoned, while 138,200 gallons of water from the main extraction pipeline were treated before it was decommissioned.

A majority of the machinery from the plant was salvaged and 416,200 pounds in steel scrap were recycled. A total of 143 power poles were salvaged, as well as 123,000 linear feet of high voltage wire and other components of the installation.

A Tooele man is facing felony sexual abuse charges stemming from an incident in 1979 after he was charged with a recent allegation of sexual assault.

Gilbert Graham, 62, is charged with two counts of second-degree felony aggravated sex abuse of a child. He was charged with two counts of unlawful sexual conduct with a 16 or 17-year-old on March 22.

The sexual abuse charges from nearly 40 years ago came to light after the victim saw an article online about the previous charges in March, according to a Tooele City police report. The victim said Graham was a substitute teacher at Tooele Junior High School in 1979 and the early 1980s, which is when the alleged abuse occurred.

The victim said Graham was his substitute gym teacher around 1979 and 1980, the report said.

During that time period, the victim said he went to a home belonging to a relative of Graham and they were wrestling, the report said. During the wrestling, the victim said Graham stopped and told him it was OK to touch each other’s genitals; the ensuing abuse went on for a few minutes and involved touching but no penetration.

After speaking with the victim, Tooele City police interviewed Graham at the police department, the report said. He told police he was a substitute teacher for various Tooele schools from 1978-1982, including Tooele Junior High School.

Graham said he worked as a substitute teacher for math, science, health and physical education classes.

When asked about his interactions with boys at Tooele Junior High, Graham said he only had normal “teacher type relationships” with students, according to the police report.

Police told Graham about the sexual abuse allegations against him from 1979 involving a student, Graham initially denied them, the report said. When investigators gave him the victim’s name, however, Graham said he remembered him well and then admitted to the sexual abuse.

During the interview, Graham admitted to police that there were other victims that may come forward and said there are likely five or six, according to the police report. He also didn’t provide any names of victims, which he said he couldn’t remember, until he gave the name of a high school student.

Graham told police his victims were usually 15 or 16 years old and male, the report said.

The charges filed against Graham this March were in relation to a 16-year-old victim, who said the unlawful sexual conduct was consensual, with one of the encounters occurring in Tooele City. Graham admitted to the sex, which occurred on two separate occasions, and said the encounters were consensual.

Anyone with information involving sexual abuse allegations connected to Gilbert Graham can contact the Tooele City Police Department at 435-882-8900.

A Tooele man appeared in 3rd District Court on felony charges Monday in connection with a report of shoplifting that resulted in the recovery of illegal drugs.

Shawn D. Gressman, 41, is charged with four counts of possession or use of a controlled substance, as well as misdemeanor counts of failure to stop at the command of law enforcement and retail theft.

Tooele City police were dispatched to the Tooele Walmart on reports of a shoplifting in progress at 10 p.m. on April 25, according to a probable cause statement. An employee reported the man, dressed in a black hat, gray shirt and gray sweats, was hiding merchandise in his pockets.

Prior to arrival, the officer was notified by dispatch the suspect was at the self-checkout and preparing to leave the store and the asset protection employee was going to attempt to stop him, the statement said. When an officer arrived, the employee pointed out the man, who the officer identified as Gressman from previous encounters.

The officer pulled up to Gressman in his car and called him by name to stop, according to the statement. Gressman allegedly acknowledged the officer by looking at him but continued to walk away, dropping merchandise from his pockets in the parking lot.

Despite multiple commands to stop, Gressman continued to walk away from the officer, dropping items and refusing to keep his hands away from his pockets, the statement said. When the officer grabbed him, Gressman stopped and he was placed under arrest for shoplifting and failing to stop at the command of law enforcement.

Gressman was searched by the officer back at his patrol vehicle and $125 in additional merchandise was found in his sweat pants, as well as five plastic baggies in his wallet, according to the probable cause statement. The baggies contained four different substances the officer identified as drugs, but the statement does not identify which controlled substances were found.

Gressman is scheduled to appear in 3rd District Court for a roll call hearing on May 16 at 9 a.m. before Judge Robert Adkins.

The three North Carolina men arrested in connection with a traffic stop that saw two of them flee police on Saturday were charged in 3rd District Court on Monday.

Adrian Ladson, 22, of Winston Salem; Joseph Dodd, 22, of Gary and Darrion Williams, 22, of Greensboro, are charged with third-degree felony possession with intent to distribute a Class C substance and misdemeanor use or possession of drug paraphernalia.

Williams and Ladson are also charged with misdemeanor failure to stop at the command of law enforcement.

A Utah Highway Patrol trooper initiated a traffic stop around 10:30 a.m. on Saturday after they observed a gray Nissan Rouge make an unsafe lane change on eastbound Interstate 80 near mile marker 100, according to a probable cause statement.

The SUV nearly collided with another vehicle while changing lanes, causing the other driver to brake to avoid a collision.

During the traffic stop, the trooper noticed rolling papers on the center console and the smell of marijuana while informing the driver of the violation, the statement said. The driver, Dodd, told the trooper he did not have his driver’s license and the trooper asked him to wait in his patrol vehicle while he completed a record check based on his name and date of birth.

Dodd told the trooper the SUV was a rental but no rental agreement or registration was found inside the vehicle, the statement said. Based on the odor of marijuana, the trooper informed the passengers that he would be searching the vehicle.

The trooper found a burnt marijuana cigarette on the center console of the SUV near the rolling papers and found a large quantity of marijuana in the rear of the vehicle in vacuum-sealed bags, according to the probable cause statement. When the trooper attempted to arrest Williams upon discovery of the marijuana, the passenger pulled free of his grip and fled eastbound on I-80.

The trooper then attempted to arrest Ladson, who was outside the vehicle and standing on the side of the road, the statement said. Ladson distracted the trooper by shouting and pointing at Dodd, who was in the passenger seat of the patrol vehicle, allowing him to flee eastbound on I-80 as well.

The trooper arrested Dodd without incident and his vehicle was towed to the State Bureau of Investigations, where 18 pounds of marijuana was discovered.

It was believed that one of the men carjacked a vehicle at the nearby scenic overlook on westbound I-80 but it was later determined he was given a ride by a citizen who did not realize he was a fugitive, according to UHP. A Department of Public Safety helicopter was used to locate one suspect and the other was arrested in the Tooele area while getting into a taxi to Salt Lake International Airport.

Ladson was arrested at 5:27 p.m. and Williams was arrested at 5:58 p.m., the probable cause statement said.

Tooele City Police Department, Tooele County Sheriff’s Office, Grantsville City Police Department, Unified Police Department and the Department of Natural Resources all contributed to the search for the fugitives, according to UHP.