Tooele Army Depot will open its doors to the community to celebrate its 75th anniversary on Thursday afternoon.

Festivities at the military installation will begin at 1 p.m. with welcome remarks from depot commander Col. Jimmy Brown. Brown’s remarks will be followed by a ceremonial cake cutting and presentation of a governor’s declaration by retired Col. Gary Harter.

The anniversary celebration, which is open to the public, will feature historic displays about activities at the depot,  munitions and fire department artifacts, games, a photo booth and local Ferrari club car display, according to a release from TEAD.

The Utah National Guard’s 23rd Army Band will also perform during the event.

Local classic rock band Seasoned Amnesia will perform following the afternoon festivities, which end at 4 p.m. There will also be a beer and wine garden for the evening celebration.

TEAD was established as the Tooele Ordnance Depot in 1942 and construction finished the following year. The north area housed supplies, ammunition and combat vehicles for World War II.

The depot took over the former Deseret Chemical Depot in 1949, which was later designated Tooele Army Depot South Area, according to a TEAD history fact sheet.

The Tooele Ordnance Depot was renamed Tooele Army Depot in 1962 and was assigned maintenance responsibility on various vehicles, construction equipment, troop support items and generators.

The Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission recommended TEAD take over the general supply storage mission from Pueblo Army Depot in Colorado in 1988 and eliminate its troop support, maintenance, storage and distribution mission in 1993.

With a reduced mission, TEAD turned over 1,700 acres and 258 buildings to Tooele City in 1999. The transfer makes up the current industrial depot located off of state Route 112.

Today, Tooele Army Depot is an active joint ammunition storage site, including the storing, shipping, receiving and inspection of conventional ammunition. In 2016, the depot had 489 civilian and two military employees, with an additional 47 contractor employees and 95 tenants.

During its peak employment year of 1985, TEAD had 4,697 employees.

The towns of Rush Valley and Stockton will celebrate their communities and residents during celebrations this weekend.

Stockton Day kicks off with a flag raising at 7 a.m. at the park, followed by a fireman’s breakfast at 8 a.m. on Saturday. Burritos at the fireman’s breakfast will be $5.

An all-comers parade will begin at 10 a.m., featuring decorated bicycles, all-terrain vehicles, horses, floats and more. Residents interested in the parade should meet at the LDS church at 9:30 a.m.

The parade will also feature cars participating in the car show, which will be held at Alex Baker Memorial Park. Anyone with questions about the car show can contact Dan Rouggly at 907-382-1427.

The Stockton Princess Pageant will be held following the parade and will feature participants four to 14 years old.

There will be bingo at the park pavilion at 1 p.m. and entertainment from noon to 4 p.m. featuring magic, music and just-for-fun karaoke. Dinner will be available from Vista Linda on-site at 4 p.m. with music from the band Flashback.

Rush Valley Days start Thursday evening with a showing of Marvel’s “Doctor Strange” at the Rush Valley Town Hall at 9 p.m. Attendees should bring their own chairs and blankets. On Friday, residents will have the opportunity to watch Disney’s “Moana” at the town hall.

On Saturday, festivities kick off with a trap shoot in the field north of the town hall at 8 a.m. Participants will need to bring their own shotguns and ammunition, but clay pigeons will be provided. Anyone with questions on the trap shoot can contact Kevin Russell at 435-830-8707.

There will be a cake walk, pop ring toss and bounce house beginning at noon, with a horseshoe tournament at 1 p.m. Bingo, face painting and a water balloon toss will start at 2 p.m.

Rush Valley Days will have a taco bar with chips, salsa, a cookie and drink for dinner on Saturday at 4 p.m. Dinner is $25 for families or $5 per person and tickets for a drawing are included with the meal.

At 5 p.m., Guy Brown and Cooper Tolbert will perform a concert to wrap up the event.

Two Tooele residents are facing felony charges after police found drugs, paraphernalia and explosives in their residence.

John Scott Shepherd, 32, and Danyel Renee Minnis, 43, are charged with second-degree felony recklessness with an incendiary device, third-degree felony endangerment of a child or elder adult, third-degree felony for knowingly producing, dispensing or manufacturing a controlled substance, as well as three misdemeanor counts of possession or use of a controlled substance and one misdemeanor count of use or possession of drug paraphernalia.

Kathleen Joanne Oltmanns, 30, is also charged with two counts of misdemeanor possession or use of a controlled substance and one count of misdemeanor use or possession of drug paraphernalia.

A Tooele County Sheriff’s deputy was dispatched to a residence on reports of text messages found on the phone of a 10-year-old child offering to sell methamphetamine and heroin for $90, according to a probable cause statement.

The minor provided the text messages and said they spent time at the home of Minnis and Shepherd the previous night and said they smelled marijuana inside the residence.

The deputy responded to the residence of Minnis and Shepherd, where the deputy immediately smelled marijuana after Shepherd answered the door, the probable cause statement said. The deputy had Minnis and Shepherd leave the home then asked them about the smell of marijuana.

During the questioning, Shepherd became “agitated and confrontational” and was detained, according to the probable cause statement. The deputy applied for a search warrant for the home based on the smell of marijuana and text messages with the minor.

Upon approval of the warrant, the deputy and sheriff’s office investigators entered the home, where they encountered Oltmanns, the probable cause statement said. Oltmanns said she lived in a room downstairs, where police found heroin, meth, marijuana and drug paraphernalia.

Oltmanns admitted to possessing the drugs and paraphernalia found in the room, the statement said.

Police searched the rest of the house and discovered additional paraphernalia items, as well as heroin, meth and marijuana in each room, the probable cause statement said. Marijuana and mushrooms were found growing inside the home.

Drugs and paraphernalia were found within reach of where the minor spent the night, the statement said.

During the search, improvised explosive devices were discovered, as well as explosive building material, according to the probable cause statement. The search was halted and a bomb squad was called in to detonate the devices due to the danger to officers and the occupants.

After the explosives were disposed of, the search resumed and all illegal materials were removed from the home for evidence, the statement said.

Oltmanns is scheduled for a pretrial conference on Aug. 22 before 3rd District Court Judge Robert Adkins. Her bail was set at $2,500 and she was appointed counsel during an arraignment Monday in court.

Bail was set at $25,000 and a public defender was assigned for both Minnis and Shepherd during their initial appearance in 3rd District Court on Monday. They are scheduled to appear in court on Aug. 22 at 9 a.m. for a roll call hearing.

Grantsville City Police Chief Jacob Enslen said he didn’t expect so much of his job to involve picking out furniture and making decisions on color.

Since taking over as police chief in March, Enslen has been involved in the day-to-day process of leading the department and weighing in on the completion of the city’s new justice center. The $3.6 million facility will house the city’s justice court and police department.

Enslen said the most recent work has been installing doors and windows at the facility, which is slated to be complete in November. He said he’s been more involved in the project than he expected, dealing with small but important details, like who has access to which rooms in the shared building.

“It’s little things, little details that have to be decided,” Enslen said.

Inside the justice center, crews are still doing plenty of work, but the space is beginning to take shape. Enslen pointed out the purpose of each room, including storage for evidence, interview rooms for the court and the shared community space.

At this point, the walls are still exposed sheetrock with particle board doors and construction equipment everywhere. Enslen already has the space planned out, however, which will be a significant increase over the space the department currently utilizes in City Hall.

“Just the evidence room alone right now is overflowing,” he said. “We have to store a lot of our equipment in there and evidence, and this will allow us to get better organized and keep things separated.”

With the police department moving out of City Hall, other city departments are expected to divvy up the office space, Enslen said.

The justice center also features more secure unloading of suspects for court, with a secure sally port at the rear of the building and holding space. Enslen said the department will have two different interview rooms, with a traditional setup as well as a more comfortable, lounge-type space for interviewing families or victims.

In addition to expanded work space, the justice center will feature a kitchen area with microwave and fridge, as well as a fitness room for officers. He said the department is looking for donated exercise equipment to use in the new fitness room.

The facility also includes additional office space for future investigators and patrol sergeants to be hired when the department expands, Enslen said. He praised city leaders for building a facility that will allow for growth in the future.

“I think it’s an amazing accomplishment for the city to get this building put in place and it will serve the citizens for a really long time,” he said.

The two biggest open spaces in the new facility are the new justice court, and a training room that will be open to the public. Both rooms feature high ceilings and several windows, which let in lots of natural light during a tour Tuesday afternoon.

Enslen said he hopes to start community outreach, including a merit badge program, once the new justice center is finished.

While there are still several months to go before construction is complete, Enslen said the project appears to be on track financially and he looks for ways to cut costs, such as eliminating unnecessary signage and a perimeter fence.

“We do little things here and there to try and save a little money and make sure we stay within budget,” Enslen said.

The city is financing the justice center with a state Community Impact Board loan for $2.7 million at 2.5 percent interest over 30 years. The city will use $400,000 in public safety impact fees and $500,000 from the general fund’s reserve fund as a down payment.

Overlake residents were on the lookout for a mountain lion Thursday afternoon before it was captured by the state Department of Wildlife Resources with assistance from the Tooele City Police Department.

The mountain lion was first spotted around 12:40 p.m. near 2200 N. 50 West in Tooele City and officers were dispatched to search the area, according to Tooele City Police Sgt. Tanya Kalma. Officers spent several hours searching for the big cat.

“The animal was spotted throughout several front yards and kept jumping fences and getting out of sight,” Kalma said. “Eventually it got out of sight from our officers, who weren’t able to relocate it.”

A reverse 911 call went out to the Sunset Estates neighborhood where the cougar had been spotted following the initial sighting, Kalma said. The alert cautioned residents to be on the lookout for the mountain lion and to keep pets and children inside their homes.

After losing sight of the cougar for a period of time, it was rediscovered in the yard of a home on Berra Boulevard around 3:25 p.m., according to Kalma. Utah DWR was called in to tranquilize the animal.

Utah DWR wildlife biologist Tom Becker said the mountain lion was hiding under a large tomato plant in the resident’s yard. After hitting the big cat with a dart, it went to the corner of the yard but did not jump the fence, then fell asleep, he said.

Tooele City police officers assisted in removing the cougar from the resident’s yard and into a state DWR pickup truck for relocation. Becker said the mountain lion would be released in an area canyon.

The mountain lion was approximately two years old, which is about the age they leave their mothers, according to Becker. There are sightings of mountain lions in Tooele County every year, he said.

“They usually don’t get far enough into town where we end up darting them but it’s not uncommon,” Becker said.

Throughout the pursuit of the mountain lion, residents provided calls to dispatch on where the animal was traveling, volunteered drones to help locate it and one resident even offered hunting dogs, but they were unable to track the cougar, according to Kalma. Tooele County Emergency Management also contributed a drone to monitor the big cat after it settled in the Berra Boulevard yard.

“We’re just grateful for all the community involvement,” Kalma said. “It was definitely a community effort.”

A sobriety checkpoint in Grantsville City saw plenty of vehicles and several violations on Friday night, as the city combats a sharp rise in driving under the influence arrests.

The checkpoint, which began around 8 p.m. on Main Street near the Cooley Street intersection, presented only a minor delay for motorists while officers searched for signs of impairment.

Grantsville City police organized the checkpoint with support from Utah Highway Patrol, Tooele County Sheriff’s Office, Stockton Police Department and Adult Probation and Parole.

The state Division of Motor Vehicles was also on scene, using license plate readers to check the plates, registration and insurance of drivers.

“We know it’s effective because in the first 30 minutes we already have a DUI and I think some open containers,” said Grantsville City Police Sgt. Mike Jones.

By the end of the night, 491 cars passed through the checkpoint with contact made with 335, as the warrant only allowed police to stop 10 cars total at one time. There were four DUI arrests, including a Class A misdemeanor due to unrestrained children, as well as five drug-related arrests and eight traffic violations including no insurance or attempting to avoid the checkpoint.

According to Grantsville City Police Det. Lydon Allred, one of the vehicles stopped for a DUI was a fully-loaded semitrailer with a very intoxicated driver.

Motorists only stopped briefly at the sobriety checkpoint but it is enough time for trained law enforcement officers to spot impairment, Jones said. The driver’s eyes, speech patterns and general interactions can all serve as indicators.

“Things we’re looking for are those bloodshot eyes, slow and slurred speech,” he said. “We’re also looking for the odor of an alcoholic beverage, for the odor of narcotics, whether that be marijuana or something else.”

Both Jones and Allred cited a recent rise in DUI-related arrests as motivation for the checkpoint. In 2016, there were 53 DUI arrests in Grantsville — an increase of 32 from the previous year — and a number of factors are contributing, according to Jones and Allred.

The Utah Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice report on DUIs found arrests decreased statewide by 47 in fiscal year 2016 to 10,755.

Jones said a lot of DUI problems are the result of drug-related impairment. A K-9 handler, Jones said both of the department’s K-9 officers were on hand for the checkpoint to search vehicles for narcotics.

Allred said driving under the influence of marijuana has become more prevalent as debates surrounding legalization have reached nearby states.

“Ever since the states surrounding us legalized marijuana, we’ve seen a huge increase in marijuana DUIs,” he said.

Allred also said the vast majority of juvenile DUIs have been related to marijuana and prescription drug abuse. He said change in culture around marijuana seems to be fueling the rise in arrests.

“I can actually say in my last year of being on this department, I’ve seen more juvenile DUIs than I’ve ever seen,” he said. “It’s been out of control.”

In 2016, 17 percent of all DUI arrests by Colorado State Patrol involved marijuana. In a 2016 Colorado Department of Transportation survey, 55 percent of respondents said they believed it was safe to drive under the influence of marijuana.

It’s not just recreational drug use causing DUIs, according to Allred. Some prescribed medication can cause impairment and it is illegal to drive with those drugs in the motorist’s system.

“It used to be a very consistent age group that you would see a lot of DUIs in,” Allred said. “Now we’re seeing them completely across the spectrum. Where your elderly crowd typically isn’t out drinking and driving, you’re starting to see a lot more of it related to drugs.”

Jones and Allred also discussed the .05 blood alcohol content law passed by the state Legislature, which will go into effect at the end of 2018.

For the average person out for a drink with dinner, there shouldn’t be a concern of exceeding the .05 limit, Jones said. He also reminded motorists that not driving after you drink is the best policy.

“So we want people to drink responsibly, we want them to go out and enjoy themselves, but we want them to be responsible while they’re doing it,” Jones said.

Allred said the majority of DUI arrests he sees are two or three times the current .08 legal limit, so he doesn’t see the .05 limit as a major change.

“People drink and then they get the false sense of, ‘Oh, I can handle this,’ because they’re so intoxicated,” he said. “At .05, you have the ability to think it through.”

Jones said the department has been working additional DUI shifts with UHP and checkpoints like the one last Friday are designed to keep drunk drivers off the road. He said most people are glad to see the checkpoint and didn’t mind the minor delay he compared to a traffic light.

“Basically we just want everyone to be safe on the roads,” Jones said.

Allred said the checkpoint sends a message to anyone who might drive impaired that law enforcement takes DUIs seriously.

“It shows them we’re out here, its shows them that we’re proactive, it shows them that we have zero tolerance for DUI, whether it’s drug or alcohol related,” Allred said.

Tooele Army Depot celebrated its 75th anniversary last Thursday with warm words from attending dignitaries and perfect summer weather.

TEAD Commander Col. Jimmy Brown praised the work of the installation’s employees over the history of the depot, which was founded during World War II as a munitions storage depot to support the Pacific theater. The depot continues to provide ammunition support in every subsequent military conflict, including Iraq and Afghanistan.

“During the last 75 years, this depot’s military and civilian employees have served with distinction and honor, and have always been at the ready,” Brown said.

More than 70 percent of the depot’s employees are former military and many have active service members in the family, Brown said. According to TEAD Chief of Staff Kathy Anderson, a recent economic study found the depot has more than 550 employees and its operations contribute $114 million to the state of Utah.

“The men and women at Tooele Army Depot are truly national assets and what we do is critical to the defense of our country,” Brown said.

During her opening remarks, Anderson said the installation, which is roughly the size of Washington, D.C., continues to focus its primary mission around conventional ammunition.

‘Though the depot has endured various missions, realignments, successes and sacrifices, today we recognize 75 years of dedicated service to our many men and women in uniform across the globe,” she said.

Retired Col. Gary Harter, director of the Utah Department of Veterans and Military Affairs, attended the celebration to read a proclamation from Gov. Gary Herbert, naming Aug. 10 as Tooele Army Depot Day. He said in his experience with counterparts around the country, they know about TEAD and Utah.

“Tooele Army Depot really does set the standard across the nation,” said Harter, who previously served as commander of Dugway Proving Ground.

The opening ceremonies concluded with a ceremonial cake cutting using a military sword. The cake was cut by its longest-tenured employee, Teresa Martinez, with 38 years, and Adam McClelland, with four days.

After the cake cutting, attendees were able to take tours of the installation, view munitions and fire department artifacts, play horseshoes and cornhole, and view a local Ferrari club car display.

TEAD was established as the Tooele Ordnance Depot in 1942 and construction finished the following year. The north area housed supplies, ammunition and combat vehicles for World War II.

The depot took over the former Deseret Chemical Depot in 1949, which was later designated Tooele Army Depot South Area, according to a TEAD history fact sheet.

Today, Tooele Army Depot is an active joint ammunition storage site, including the storing, shipping, receiving and inspection of conventional ammunition.

During its peak employment year of 1985, TEAD had 4,697 employees.

Overlake residents were on the lookout for a mountain lion Thursday afternoon before it was captured by the state Department of Wildlife Resources with assistance from the Tooele City Police Department.

The mountain lion was first spotted around 12:40 p.m. near 2200 N. 50 West in Tooele City and officers were dispatched to search the area, according to Tooele City Police Sgt. Tanya Kalma. Officers spent several hours searching for the big cat.

“The animal was spotted throughout several front yards and kept jumping fences and getting out of sight,” Kalma said. “Eventually it got out of sight from our officers, who weren’t able to relocate it.”

A reverse 911 call went out to the Sunset Estates neighborhood where the cougar had been spotted following the initial sighting, Kalma said. The alert cautioned residents to be on the lookout for the mountain lion and to keep pets and children inside their homes.

After losing sight of the cougar for a period of time, it was rediscovered in the yard of a home on Berra Boulevard around 3:25 p.m., according to Kalma. Utah DWR was called in to tranquilize the animal.

Utah DWR wildlife biologist Tom Becker said the mountain lion was hiding under a large tomato plant in the resident’s yard. After hitting the big cat with a dart, it went to the corner of the yard but did not jump the fence, then fell asleep, he said.

Tooele City police officers assisted in removing the cougar from the resident’s yard and into a state DWR pickup truck for relocation. Becker said the mountain lion would be released in an area canyon.

The animal was approximately two years old, which is about the age they leave their mothers, according to Becker. There are sightings of mountain lions in Tooele County every year, he said.

“They usually don’t get far enough into town where we end up darting them but it’s not uncommon,” Becker said.

Throughout the pursuit of the mountain lion, residents provided calls to dispatch on where the animal was traveling, volunteered drones to help locate it and one resident even offered hunting dogs, but they were unable to track the cougar, according to Kalma. Tooele County Emergency Management also contributed a drone to monitor the big cat after it settled in the Berra Boulevard yard.

“We’re just grateful for all the community involvement,” Kalma said. “It was definitely a community effort.”

One person is dead and five were injured after a head-on collision between spectator vehicles on an access road at the Bonneville Salt Flats Wednesday morning.

A pickup truck and minivan were heading in opposite directions on the salt flats about one mile off the pavement around 8:51 a.m., according to Tooele County Sheriff Lt. Ron Johnson. A witness saw the pickup truck veer into the path of the van, causing the collision, Johnson said.

The victim killed in the accident was a 65-year-old man, according to the sheriff’s office. The victim’s name has not been released pending notification of next of kin, Johnson said.

There were four occupants in the minivan and two in the pickup truck, according to Johnson. The deceased was the passenger in the pickup truck.

Those injured in the crash were treated by safety and medical personnel on scene, before they were transported by ambulance and medical helicopter to University of Utah Hospital in Salt Lake, according to a release from Southern California Timing Association President and race director Pat McDowell.

The condition of the other vehicle occupants has not been released.

Johnson said the cause of the accident is under investigation. The accident happened in the jurisdiction of the federal Bureau of Land Management but the investigation was turned over to the sheriff’s office, which is collaborating with the Utah Highway Patrol.

The spectators were part of the ongoing Speed Week event on the Bonneville Salt Flats, which runs Aug. 12 through Aug. 18.

This story will be updated with more information as it becomes available.

A Nevada man will make another appearance in 3rd District Court after he was arrested and charged in connection with an aggravated robbery that occurred in Wendover in June.

Justice Santistevan, 22, of Pine Valley, is charged with two counts of first-degree felony aggravated robbery, three counts of first-degree felony aggravated assault and misdemeanor theft.

Wendover City police were dispatched to Motel 6 around 6:55 a.m. on June 31 on reports of a robbery that occurred in front of the Family Dollar, according to a probable cause statement. An officer made contact with the two male victims, who said they were robbed by an unidentified male wearing a red tanktop.

The victims said the assailant attacked them from behind while they were walking past the Family Dollar on their way to their motel room, the statement said. Their attacker pulled out a knife to threaten them, and threw one of the victims on the ground and choked them until they could hardly breathe, they said.

The assailant also threatened the victims he would hurt them with a gang of friends from the Aryan Brotherhood, according to the statement.

The victims told police they gave their attacker $40 in cash but refused when he demanded their cell phones so he left.

After the robbery, the victims spoke with a manager at the motel, who identified their attacker as likely being Santistevan, based on their description of a blond man in a red tanktop, the statement said. The manager said Santistevan wanders the area round the Dollar Store and is a known drug user.

Officers showed the victims a photograph line-up of men matching the general description of Santistevan, in their early 20s with similar complexion and features, including Santistevan, the statement said. Both victims identified Santistevan as the person who robbed them.

Wendover City police located Santistevan on July 19 and arrested him in connection with the aggravated robbery.

Santistevan made his initial appearance in 3rd District Court on July 31. Bail was set at $25,000 cash only and was appointed an attorney. He is scheduled to return to court on Aug. 22 at 9 a.m. before Judge Robert Adkins.

A wealth of activity will be available for residents to celebrate their community this weekend at Stansbury Days.

Festivities kick off Friday night at the Stansbury Park Clubhouse, with a kid’s triathlon at 6:30 p.m. and a family movie on the lawn at dusk. The movie, Disney’s “Moana,” is expected to start around 9 p.m.

On Saturday, the events begin early with a sprint triathlon beginning at 6:30 a.m. The race is $35 for residents, $45 for county residents and $55 for out-of-county residents.

The Stansbury Days parade will begin at 10 a.m. at the LDS Church on Bayshore Drive before making its way down Lakeside Drive. The street will be closed to vehicle traffic from 9:45 a.m. to 11 a.m. and there is no street parking along the parade route.

Following the parade, the clubhouse will again be the epicenter of activity with vendors, bounce houses, midway games and bubble balls available for an additional cost. There will be a number of food trucks including Waffle Love, Taco Man, Spuds and Simply Bliss BBQ.

Members of the Stansbury Park Community Association will receive a coupon sheet to food vendors, wristbands for the bounce house and tickets to midway games. Entertainment includes live music, karaoke, a magic show and a car show.

At noon, there will be free swimming at the pool and a cardboard boat race on the lake. The annual Stansbury Cup Regatta begins at 1 p.m. and will be open to all wind or man-powered watercraft. The race is sponsored by the Stansbury Park Service Agency and winners will have their names added to the Stansbury Cup in the clubhouse.

At dusk, there will be fireworks and a star party at the Stansbury Park Observatory Complex to wrap up the festivities. Attendees are invited back on Sunday morning at 9 a.m. to participate in a clean-up of the area around the clubhouse and lake.

A Tooele woman and her instructor died in a skydiving accident last Thursday evening at the Nephi City Airport.

Wendi Gabaldon, 41, of Tooele and Serena Whelchel, 35, of California jumped from a Cessna 182 plane at the airport in Juab County around 6:30 p.m., according to a release from Nephi City Police Chief Michael Morgan. Arranged through Sky Dive the Wasatch, a business at the Nephi City Airport, Gabaldon and Whelchel were completing a recreational tandem jump.

Nephi City police officers and Juab County Sheriff’s Office deputies were dispatched at 7:19 p.m. and immediately responded to the scene, the release said. The victims were transported by ambulance to Central Valley Medical Center where they died from their injuries.

The cause of the accident is still under investigation but police believe the parachute did not properly function, according to the release. The accident is under investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration.

One person is dead and five were injured after a head-on collision between spectator vehicles on an access road at the Bonneville Salt Flats Wednesday morning.

A pickup truck and minivan were heading in opposite directions on the salt flats about one mile off the pavement around 8:51 a.m., according to Tooele County Sheriff Lt. Ron Johnson. A witness saw the pickup truck veer into the path of the van, causing the collision, Johnson said.

The victim killed in the accident was a 65-year-old man, according to the sheriff’s office. The victim’s name has not been released pending notification of next of kin, Johnson said.

There were four occupants in the minivan and two in the pickup truck, according to Johnson. The deceased was the passenger in the pickup truck.

Those injured in the crash were treated by safety and medical personnel on scene, before they were transported by ambulance and medical helicopter to University of Utah Hospital in Salt Lake, according to a release from Southern California Timing Association President and race director Pat McDowell.

The condition of the other vehicle occupants has not been released.

Johnson said the cause of the accident is under investigation. The accident happened in the jurisdiction of the federal Bureau of Land Management but the investigation was turned over to the sheriff’s office, which is collaborating with the Utah Highway Patrol.

The spectators were part of the ongoing Speed Week event on the Bonneville Salt Flats, which runs Aug. 12 through Aug. 18.

This story will be updated with more information as it becomes available.

The Grantsville City Council is considering options to temporarily halt subdivisions in the city while it works to update requirements for new developments.

During its meeting Wednesday night, the city council discussed a possible 90-day moratorium on approving major subdivisions with Grantsville City Attorney Brett Coombs, who attended the meeting remotely.

Coombs said he reviewed state law and the city could enact a moratorium but would need to pass an ordinance that was explicit on the need of a moratorium and cite reasons to protect health, safety and welfare. The ordinance would need to include a start and end date, with a maximum length of six months.

While Coombs agreed to write an ordinance for the council to review for a possible moratorium, he recommended looking for an alternative.

“If it’s possible to achieve what the council wants without doing a moratorium, my advice would be to take that route,” he said.

City councilman Neil Critchlow said he had concerns about where children would play in larger housing developments and how they would be able to travel safely to school and other destinations.

“There’s lots of things that can be part of that health and safety (requirement),” Critchlow said.

The city council also discussed possible changes to the city’s code to encourage safety and preserve open space for parks and other recreational development.

City councilman Tom Tripp said one possible change could be requiring wider streets in residential zoning, increasing the minimum requirement from 33 feet to 36 feet. He said cars are often parked along both sides of streets, making it difficult for motorists to navigate.

“I think you just need to make it a bit wider,” Tripp said. “Just trying to go down Ranch Road in the wintertime on ice, cars parked on the street, it’s a challenge to do safely.”

Tripp also brought up requiring developers to include some kind of open space in their developments, which had been discussed at previous council meetings.

“I thought the concept we were discussing was, when you have a development, you have to set aside a certain fraction of the area for a neighborhood play space or common use or whatever, which I think is part of the developer’s cost,” Tripp said.

Critchlow asked if the city could add parks created by developers to the city’s capital facilities plan to make them eligible for impact fees, and Grantsville City Mayor Brent Marshall confirmed that was the case.

Critchlow said a developer told him pocket parks, which are generally smaller and created within a single development, see a steep decrease in use after a couple years.

The council directed Coombs to write a draft ordinance for the 90-day moratorium for the council to consider at a future meeting.

One of the suspects connected to the theft of a Utah Highway Patrol trooper’s car on July 30 will appear in 3rd District Court this week.

Brandy Willes, 32, of Kearns, is charged with second-degree felony theft, third-degree felony escape from official custody and third-degree wrongful appropriation, as well as misdemeanor counts of reckless endangerment, false personal information with intent to be another actual person, reckless driving and driving with a measurable amount of a controlled substance.

A trooper was dispatched to a vehicle rollover near milepost 21 on eastbound Interstate 80 around 9:28 a.m., according to a probable cause statement. The call to dispatch indicated the two occupants of the vehicle were out and walking around, apparently uninjured.

The responding trooper spoke with the victims of the accident, a man and woman later identified as Willes and Tommy Rodriguez, 28, of West Valley City, who claimed they didn’t have identification with them, the statement said. Willes told the trooper her name was Sarah Gordon and that she was asleep when the crash occurred.

Rodriguez told the officer he was driving approximately 75 mph prior to the crash and drifted to the edge of the road before overcorrecting, which caused the vehicle to overturn, according to the statement.

The trooper requested a review of the license plate and identification from those involved in the crash and dispatch immediately called back on reports the vehicle was stolen, the statement said. The trooper placed Rodriguez under arrest as he claimed to be the driver and searched his personal belongings before placing him in the rear of the patrol vehicle.

The trooper also arrested Willes, handcuffing her and placing her in the front passenger seat of the patrol vehicle, according to the probable cause statement. After securing them in the vehicle, the trooper went back to speak with occupants of a pickup truck that had stopped to assist the suspects following the crash.

The personal belongings of Willes and Rodriguez were in the back of the truck and aluminum foil with burn marks was found amongst their belongings, the statement said. The trooper went to return to his vehicle to obtain evidence gloves when the patrol vehicle drove away.

Realizing his vehicle was stolen, the trooper accepted the pickup truck to pursue the fleeing Willes and Rodriguez, according to the statement. After catching up to his patrol vehicle, the subjects were seen fleeing south into the desert and the trooper terminated a foot chase.

A fixed-wing aircraft from the Utah County Sheriff’s Office and a state Department of Public Safety helicopter were involved in the search for the suspects, according to UHP. A Grantsville City Police Department K-9, area UHP troopers, Tooele County Sheriff’s Office and Utah State Bureau of Investigation also joined in the pursuit.

Using the helicopter to call out the escaped subjects, the two suspects were safely taken into custody, UHP said.

When the dashboard camera was reviewed by the trooper, it was found Willes was unable to maintain her lane and topped out at 133 mph while driving the patrol vehicle, the probable cause statement said.

Willes is in court for a roll call hearing on Tuesday at 9 a.m.

The name of the man who died in a head-on collision between spectator vehicles on an access road at the Bonneville Salt Flats Wednesday morning has been released by police.

The victim in the crash has been identified as 65-year-old Christopher Clay of Rohnert Park, California, according to Tooele County Sheriff Lt. Ron Johnson. Five other occupants in the two-vehicle accident were injured.

A pickup truck and minivan were heading in opposite directions on the salt flats about one mile off the pavement before 9 a.m., Johnson said. A witness said the pickup truck veered into the path of the oncoming minivan, causing the collision, according to Johnson.

There were four occupants in the minivan and two in the pickup truck, according to Johnson. Clay was the passenger in the pickup truck. The spectators were part of Speed Week on the Bonneville Salt Flats, which ran from Aug. 12 through Aug. 18.

Those injured in the crash were treated by safety and medical personnel on scene, before they were transported by ambulance and medical helicopter to University of Utah Hospital in Salt Lake City, according to a release from Southern California Timing Association President and race director Pat McDowell.

The condition of the other vehicle occupants has not been released.

Johnson said the cause of the accident is under investigation. The accident happened in the jurisdiction of the federal Bureau of Land Management but the investigation was turned over to the sheriff’s office, which is collaborating with the Utah Highway Patrol.

Three fires that occurred Monday afternoon near the industrial depot in Tooele City are being regarded as suspicious, according to Tooele City Fire Chief Bucky Whitehouse.

The first fire was reported near Industrial Loop Road, about 200 yards southwest of Cabela’s warehouse at 12:54 p.m., Whitehouse said. A second fire was reported at 1:10 p.m. along the same road, northwest of Airgas, and about a mile from the initial blaze.

A third fire was reported to dispatch a few minutes later at 1:13 p.m. on Rogers Street.

Whitehouse said the point of origin has been determined for the three fires but not the cause. He said the department is considering the fires suspicious and is asking the public to contact Tooele City police at 435-882-8900 if they have any information.

While fires can sometimes be ignited by sparks from vehicles or other benign occurrences, Whitehouse said the person who caused the fire will generally report the fire or stay nearby.

Each of the three blazes was quickly knocked down within 10 to 12 minutes by crews from Tooele City Fire Department and Tooele Army Depot Fire Department, according to Whitehouse. Once the flames were down, however, crews had to remain on site to look for hot spots.

“There’s a significant amount of time in mop up,” Whitehouse said.

With field fires, like the ones on Monday, crews have to investigate for potential sources of heat like root systems of plants or even cow pies, Whitehouse said.

A portion of Tooele City Main Street was closed for several hours on Monday as first responders and Dominion Energy crews investigated a natural gas leak.

Tooele City Fire Chief Bucky Whitehouse said the department was called out around 10:45 a.m. on Monday on reports of a gas leak. Dominion Energy was already on scene investigating reports of the smell of natural gas in the area of 900 N. Main St.

It was determined a leak in a natural gas line had migrated into the stormwater system under Main Street, prompting Dominion Energy to request fire units, Whitehouse said.

Denny’s Restaurant, Victor’s Tires and Steadman’s Recreation were evacuated due to the gas leak and some nearby businesses voluntarily evacuated, according to Whitehouse. The gas leak also caused a closure of all lanes on Main Street between 700 North and 1000 North, which lasted until about 3 p.m.

Whitehouse said the closures remained in place until the concentrations of natural gas were low enough to ensure the scene was safe while Dominion Energy crews investigated the source of the leak. Once the concentration of natural gas was considered safe, the roadway and businesses were reopened.

When natural gas leaks, it migrates toward a path of least resistance, which led it to the open piping system of the stormwater system, Whitehouse said. While there was no damage as a result of the leak, it takes hours for the natural gas to safely dissipate out of the system, he said.

Two days of fun and family-friendly events are planned for Lake Point residents to celebrate their community this weekend.

Lake Point Days begins Friday, with a neighborhood potluck dinner and chili cook off at 6:30 p.m. There will be awards for chili and deserts, including most creative, most original and most flavorful.

Festivities will conclude Friday with a movie in the park behind the LDS Church at 1366 Canyon Road at 8 p.m. Residents should bring blankets or chairs to sit on and concessions will be sold.

The next morning, there will be a 5K and kids fun run, which begin at 7 a.m. in the LDS Church parking lot. Registration for 5K runners is $10 by Friday and $12 on the day of the event. Additional family members cost $8 and participants will receive a T-shirt.

Following the runs, there will be a parade at 9 a.m., which starts at the intersection of Mountain View Road and Center Street before continuing down Center Street to the park. A children’s parade with bikes, wagons and scooters will precede the main parade, which will feature tractors, emergency equipment, horses, businesses and family floats.

Once the parade concludes, residents will gather at the park for a flag raising ceremony by active military personnel, and a horse show.

A ham and pancake breakfast will be available beginning at 10 a.m., for $3 per person and $15 per family. At the same time, a car show will be held at the park.

Other morning activities will include barrel train rides, petting zoo, relay races, horse rides and bingo for the adults.

The Stansbury Park Service Agency is reviewing its options after a revised cost estimate for the state Route 138 underpass came in higher than anticipated.

SPSA manager Randall Flynn said Logan-based Triton Engineering completed a survey and initial design on the concrete underpass, including an estimated $898,000 price tag for the project. The estimated cost includes a 20-percent contingency.

The service agency expected the project to cost about $500,000 to $600,000 and was seeking additional funding to offset the expense.

One potential funding source is off the table this year, as the underpass project did not receive Utah Department of Transportation’s Transportation Alternatives Program funds, according to Flynn. He said 22 projects around the state applied for TAP funding and only six received funds.

UDOT had increased the maximum TAP funding per project from $100,000 to $250,000 this year after carrying over unused funds from previous years, Flynn said.

Board Member Glen Oscarson questioned the cost estimate, which listed cost of structures at $500,000 when a prefab concrete company told the board the box culvert would cost about $80,000 to complete. Flynn said the cost included the box culvert, fan walls on either side and a retaining wall.

SPSA board chairman Neil Smart said the service agency should reach out to the Tooele County School District, as well as county and state governments, to see if additional funds can be secured for the project. Flynn said Triton Engineering would reach out to Utah Transportation Authority to see if the underpass qualified for funding.

Flynn previously said the service agency can use impact fees to pay for the project. The service agency currently has $1.5 million in impact fees on hand and is expected to collect $2.2 million more from currently planned development in the coming years.

“I’d love to see that put in and I think the beauty of it is it comes from impact fees from people that will be directly affected by it,” said board member Rod Thompson.

The service agency board agreed to hold off on a decision to continue with construction plans for the underpass until after the Tooele County Active Transportation Plan meeting on Sept. 7 at 5 p.m. in the Stansbury Park Clubhouse.