Erda will hold its annual celebration this weekend, highlighting what makes the Tooele County community special. 

The festivities kick off on Friday, with an $8 a plate dinner at the Erda Ballpark beginning at 6:30 p.m. There will be a variety show following dinner, as well as a silent auction and raffle. 

The events get off to an early start the following morning, with a 5K run and 1K kids run. The free race kicks off from the Beazer Home at 4336 Lidell Lane at 6:30 a.m.  

The annual parade begins at 10 a.m. on Liddell Lane, and continues to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints church on Erda Way. Judging begins at 9:30 a.m. for the parade, which is open to the public. 

The Erda Ballpark will be the site of a number of activities, which kick off at 12:30 p.m. with a $1 entrance fee. There will be games, a jumbo slide, dunking machine and climbing wall available to attendees. 

There will also be food available from Erda Burgers, as well as drinks, treats and brownies. Erda T-shirts will also be available for sale during the annual summer celebration. 

Kickball teams will compete at 1 p.m. and can register with Shelley North at 801-455-7488. Bingo will be held from 2-4 p.m., with a raffle beginning at 4 p.m.

A semitrailer driver suffered substantial injuries after his vehicle caught fire on an exit to Interstate 80 near Aragonite. 

The semitrailer fire was first reported at 11:12 p.m. on Tuesday evening, when units were dispatched to a vehicle fire at exit 56. Utah Highway Patrol troopers responded to the scene and the driver was flown to a Salt Lake-area hospital with life-threatening burns, according to UHP. 

The driver of the semi had pulled over onto the I-80 exit and the male driver was using the sleeper berth when the fire started, according to UHP. He had to maneuver through the flaming vehicle to escape to safety. 

The driver was the sole occupant of the vehicle, according to UHP. The cause of the fire is still under investigation. 

Utah Department of Transportation did not mention any traffic delays or lane closures as a result of the accident, which occurred at the exit and not on the interstate.

The Tooele City Planning Commission forwarded a positive recommendation for a final plat subdivision of the first phase of the Lexington Greens development in Overlake during its meeting Wednesday night. 

The first phase of the development, located at approximately 600 W. 1200 North, includes 113 single-family lots on 86.3 acres, according to the staff report. The development is on property zoned R1-7 residential, which permits up to five units per acre, and is surrounded by other properties zoned R1-7 and with the specific Overlake designation. 

A majority of the residential lots in the development are .16 acres, with some corner lots of .18 acres and other various sizes. The Lexington Greens project will feature a second and final phase, which requires separate approval.  

The planning commission approved a conditional use permit for a 3.9-acre park within the development at its May 8 meeting. All open space in the development, including the park and a .77-acre stormwater detention basin, will be maintained by the developer through a homeowners’ association. 

The development will also have 6-foot-tall solid vinyl fencing along the frontage with 400 West and Franks Drive to be consistent with adjacent developments.

Planning commission member Bucky Whitehouse motioned to forward a positive recommendation to the City Council, which was seconded by commission member Shauna Bevan. The vote passed 4-0, with a unanimous vote required due to the low turnout of the seven-member commission.

The Fourth of July celebration in Tooele City is always a big deal, drawing huge crowds along Main Street for the parade and at Aquatic Center Park for concerts and other activities. 

At the center of the activities this year was Tooele City Grand Marshal Karyl Maynard, a long-time Tooele resident with strong ties in the community. For Maynard, the selection was an honor, once she warmed up to the idea. 

“I was not in favor of it at first, but it was fun and everybody had a good time,” she said. “I had two sore arms.”

In addition to the fatigue of waving at the throngs along the route, Maynard did identify another downside to being seated atop a convertible car in the heart of the parade. 

“The only thing about being in something like that is you miss it all,” she said. “And I’ve always gone to the parades.”

Maynard attempted to return home following the parade, but had to return to the park to be acknowledged as the parade’s grand marshal. She said after she was introduced, she enjoyed prime seats to the Charley Jenkins concert. 

While she was born in New Hampton, Iowa, Maynard and her family moved when her father was transferred to Tooele Army Depot. With the move coming while she was 14, Maynard attended Tooele High School for three years, before taking a job to work at the depot prior to graduation. 

She married Phil Maynard, who was a member of the U.S. Army Air Corp transferred to the depot from Hill Air Force Base. She worked at the depot for 30 years, beginning as a laborer, then worked an office job, as a forklift operator and finally as a chauffeur. 

With three decades at TEAD, Maynard said she enjoyed her time working there.

“Good people to work with and I made a lot of good friends and I’ve still got them,” she said. 

Following their move to Tooele, Maynard and her family quickly incorporated themselves into the community, according to long-time friend Bruce Cummings. For her part, Maynard served as a member of the Tooele Bit N’ Spur, with the three fraternal orders in the city, as an Eastern Star (an affiliate of the Tooele Masonic Lodge), and other community organizations. She also received various awards for bowling, golf league, trapshooting and was on the organizing committee in the early years of the Tooele Arts Festival.  

Perhaps most significant has been Maynard’s work at the Tooele Senior Center and on the Tooele County Council on Aging Board. 

Her involvement with the city’s senior population began in relation to her own parents, who attended senior gatherings in the old Smelterman Lodge building on Vine Street. She said her parents were active playing pool and cards, and she would come down to the lodge building to spend free time with them. 

“I would go when I wasn’t working and be there with them for lunch and things,” she said. “And pretty soon, I was involved.”

Maynard was heavily involved in the process of transitioning the Smeltermen Lodge into the current-day Tooele Senior Center. After Tooele County Commissioner George Buzianis obtained a grant to expand the facility, she toured senior centers throughout the state for inspiration for the project, which was completed in June 1980. 

Most recently, Maynard donated the electronic sign in front of the Tooele Senior Center, in memory of her husband, Phil. A plaque engraved, “Donated by Mr. & Mrs. Phil Maynard” is placed beside the sign. 

Maynard was also heavily involved in the development and construction of Canyon Cove Housing, which was designed for seniors and individuals with disabilities. She said both projects required a lot of work and planning toward completion. 

When asked about serving on the Tooele County Council on Aging Board, Maynard joked that she can’t get off the board. She said a lot of projects she was involved with came from being willing to help. 

“I say yes too easily,” Maynard said. “But now I’ve learned to say no.”

Maynard’s involvement with the senior community and other organizations is noteworthy, but it’s not the only way she helped the community around her. 

Cummings said he first met Phil and Karyl Maynard in the 1970s when he moved to Tooele, and said they played a role in his settling into the area. He said the closeness with the Maynards led his children to call them Aunt Karyl and Uncle Phil.

“The reality is they were really surrogate grandparents to the kids,” Cummings said. “… Both of them have always been really involved with our family and always involved in supporting all kinds of kids around the community of friends and acquaintances that they had.”

While they never had children of their own, Cummings said the Maynards embraced all the kids in the neighborhoods they lived in. 

“Being involved with kids and being involved with community is not anything new,” Cummings said. “It was a lifestyle of their’s right from the time they got married.”

“I’m in the condos now, but when I had my house, the backdoor was always open and I had toys and stuff down in our basement and they all knew where to go,” Maynard said. 

The open door policy did mean there were frequently welcome, but unexpected guests in the Maynard’s home. 

“I’d come home from work and I’d never know who would be in my house,” Maynard said. 

Having cast such a wide net of outreach in the community over seven decades, Maynard has become very well known in the city, according to Cummings. 

“It’s easy to trail around behind Karyl at different public events because different people who are adults with kids who are teenagers now — they’re into the several generations,” he said. “And they all have their stories about, ‘Oh, when I was a little boy or I was a little girl, I remember you and I remember your husband Phil.’”

Being such a locally relevant figure isn’t all perks in some very specific circumstances, as Maynard attests. 

“My sister doesn’t even want to go shopping with me because I stop and talk with everybody,” she said. 

While she may hail from Iowa originally, Maynard said Tooele is home and it has everything she could ever need. 

“I think Tooele — you can’t beat it,” she said.

For the fourth time, country music act Artie Hemphill and the Iron Horse Band will take the stage for Fridays on Vine this week. 

The band, comprised of members from along the Wasatch Front, is fronted by main vocalist Artie Hemphill. The group, however, includes a variety of talented musicians, vocalists and performers who specialize in country music. 

Hemphill and the band have shared the stage with nationally famous artists, including Brad Paisley, Diamond Rio, Tim McGraw, Phil Vassar and Sawyer Brown, among others. 

In 2011, Artie Hemphill and the Iron Horse Band received $10,000 as the winners of the Stadium of Fire Talent Contest. One of three bands selected from over 400 applicants to perform live at LaVell Edwards Stadium, the band won the contest by competing for audience votes. 

The band released its album “Country Soul” in September 2016 and produced a live album in 2011. 

With the diverse musical background of the band, it has appeal for all country fans and many non-country fans as well, according to information provided by the band. Members of the band have spent years on the road with national touring acts and invested more than a decade living in Nashville, performing countless live shows in front of crowds numbering into the thousands. 

Fridays on Vine begins every Friday at 7 p.m. in the Aquatic Center Park on 200 W. Vine Street. The concerts are free to the public, but seating is limited, so patrons are encouraged to bring a blanket or lawn chair.

Three windows and an electronic door panel were damaged by vandals at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints building in Stansbury Park last Thursday.

While three windows were broken, no entry was forced into the building, according to Tooele County Chief Deputy Sheriff Brian White. Nothing was reported missing from inside the building in any of the rooms with broken windows. 

The damage occurred along the east side of the building, behind a brick wall that conceals the air conditioning units. 

At this point, investigators with the sheriff’s office believe the damage was likely caused by juveniles, White said. The vandals are still unidentified and there were no residential cameras in the area of the church building. 

Anyone with information about damage to the church can contact Tooele County Dispatch at 435-882-5600.

The Stockton Police Department is asking residents to be alert after a bat attacked a resident at their home last week. 

In an informational post to its Facebook page, the police department said the resident was attacked around 12:30 p.m. last Friday while doing yard work. 

“While bats are common in Stockton, this is concerning because it was in the middle of the afternoon, and bats are normally not aggressive,” the post said. 

Tests are being conducted to determine if the bat had rabies, according to the post from July 12. Bats can carry rabies and any bite or scratch that breaks the skin could transmit the disease, according to information on bats from Utah State University. 

Rabies is a fatal, but preventable disease, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The rabies virus infects the central nervous system and cause disease in the brain, ultimately resulting in death. 

Early symptoms from rabies are very similar to those of the flu, with general weakness, fever, or headache, according to the CDC. The disease progresses to include symptoms such as delirium, abnormal behavior, hydrophobia and insomnia.

Once clinical signs of rabies are present, the disease is almost always fatal, according to the CDC. There have been less than 20 cases of human survival after clinical rabies has been documented.  

If you are bitten or scratched by a bat or other wild mammal, you should immediately wash the wound with soap, water, and an antiviral antiseptic, according to USU information. Then you should seek medical attention, as a rabies vaccination may be required.

Stockton police recommend keeping away from any bats you may see during the day. Parents or guardians should keep an eye on children while they’re playing and pets should be vaccinated against rabies to help prevent the disease.

Three Salt Lake County residents have been identified as suspects in connection with the burglary of Bargain Buggy’s in June. 

Joshua Gibson, 38, of West Valley City; Cindy James, 39, of Kearns; and Christine Rye, 39, of West Jordan, are the suspects in the break-in, according to a release from the Tooele County Sheriff’s Office. The sheriff’s office alleges the trio stole two vehicles, keys and customer files from the car dealership on Cimmarron Way. 

Charges against Rye were filed in 3rd District Court on July 8. Rye is charged with second-degree felony theft, third-degree felony burglary, third-degree felony obstructing justice, third-degree felony false evidence of title and registration, and a misdemeanor count of theft. 

Gibson, who was an Adult Probation and Parole fugitive, was apprehended on July 9 in collaboration with other agencies and taken to the Salt Lake County Jail. Charges connected to the burglary have not been filed against him in 3rd District Court as of press time Tuesday.

James has not been located and charges against her are pending, the release said. 

When Tooele County Sheriff’s deputies investigated the burglaries, which were reported on June 16, they determined the business had been burglarized twice the previous night, according to the probable cause statement from Rye’s arrest. In the second burglary attempt, the suspects are shown on camera arriving in a gray Dodge Caliber owned by Rye. 

Rye drops off James and Gibson, who entered the building to burglarize it, while she waited outside in her vehicle as a lookout, the statement said. The camera footage showed one suspect steal a white Chevy Silverado and drive to the back of the dealership to load stolen items, including documents, a fridge and car keys, into the back of the truck. 

Surveillance footage shows the Caliber follow the Silverado around the back of the building before leaving the scene a short time later, according to the probable cause statement. 

On June 24, the stolen Chevy Silverado was recovered in Salt Lake, with Unified Police Department officers recovering a valid temporary vehicle registration, which matched Rye’s Dodge Caliber, the statement said. The temporary tag was placed in the window of the truck to make it appear it had a valid registration. 

Investigators spoke with Rye on July 2, during which she admitted to driving the two other suspects to Bargain Buggy’s and sitting in her vehicle while committing the burglary and theft of the truck, according to the statement. 

After she was arrested on July 5, Rye admitted the stolen documents and car keys were thrown in a dumpster by one of the other suspects and said she threw the fridge into some bushes on the bank of the Jordan River, the statement said. 

Rye made her initial appearance in 3rd District Court on Monday before Judge Matthew Bates. She was appointed an attorney and is scheduled to return to court on Aug. 27 at 1:30 p.m. for a scheduling conference.

As many fans can attest, the opportunity to spectate sports, whether in person or on television, drops off dramatically in the summer. 

It’s probably a good thing — there are better things to do than just sit inside on a nice summer day (unless the temperatures creep above 100 degrees, as far as I’m concerned, anyway.) 

Still, it’s nice to unwind in the evening or on a lazy weekend day with a good sporting event or two. Especially when compared to the fall, when you can have NFL, NBA, NHL and NCAA football games all in the same day. 

To get an idea of what’s possible: on Oct. 28, 2018, five pro sports teams hosted home games in Los Angeles. It was possible to watch the Rams (NFL), Kings (NHL), Clippers (NBA), Galaxy (MLS), and Dodgers (MLB – who were in the World Series) on the same day — all in their home stadiums and arenas. 

While that is the exception and not the rule, it shows the amount of overlap in the fall for sports. Similarly epic sports entertainment can be found in the spring, when the NBA and NHL playoffs are at the same time, along with the NFL Draft.

By the midpoint of summer we’re inhabiting now, however, the only major US sports leagues in action are MLB and MLS. Just coming off the All-Star break, baseball still isn’t to the point in the season where the playoff race heats up and things get interesting.

There is one welcome respite to the summer sports doldrums for me, however. The Tour de France, which runs for three weeks in July, is always a grand spectacle. 

As someone who rides their bike, though not as much as I should, the Tour de France has been a fascination of mine for years. I grew up right in the peak of the Lance Armstrong era, with his first Tour title coming when I was only 8 years old. 

While Armstrong’s reputation has been irreparably tarnished and he has been stripped of his seven Tour de France titles, watching the Tour during the years he dominated the sport hooked me for life. I became a fan of the sport as a whole, which softened the blow when Armstrong finally admitted to doping in a tell-all interview in 2013.

Growing up, we didn’t get many channels on the antenna in our backyard, but we did get CBS. So my exposure and experience with the Tour de France was seen mostly through the weekly hour-long recaps the channel offered. 

It was a palatable starting point, with long stages trimmed down to short segments and added dramatization to the race as the battle for the general classification — the overall lead by time — played out in the Alps and Pyrenees. 

While abbreviated, the CBS shows still captured the stunning countryside and towering mountains of France. It highlighted the biggest appeal of the race, with agonizing crashes, stunning collapses and white knuckle descents featured heavily. 

When we began doing the mini-Musselman Triathlon in Geneva, New York, we would stay in the athlete’s village — empty dorm rooms on the campus of Hobart and William Smith Colleges. The dorm building had a ground floor lounge, with a small kitchen, workout room, pool tables and televisions. 

Over the time we spent in Geneva for the race, we would always take time to go to the lounge, play pool and put on the full Tour de France coverage. Instead of an hour-long recap show, it would be wall-to-wall coverage featuring commentary from Phil Liggett and the late Paul Sherwin.  

Watching the entire stage was a new experience, if only for those few days in July. Seeing the whole race unfold is likely boring for many, with hours and hours of men in Lycra pedaling bicycles, but it was fascinating to me. 

The strategy, preparation and good fortune required to win a stage, let alone the overall race, are never on better display than in the full coverage. Some gnarly crosswinds or a mid-pack crash can undo a year of preparation in a mere moment. 

Nowadays, I have a bloated cable package with far too many channels, including NBC Sports, so I can watch the Tour de France in its entirety. I frequently do, sometimes catching the morning broadcast from home. 

In a lot of ways, I’m actually glad there isn’t football, basketball or anything else to distract me from one of the most amazing sporting events in the world. With 21 stages over 23 days, featuring 2,162 miles of racing in the 2019 edition, it’s almost an entire month of racing. 

With the first significant mountain stage on tap for this morning, you can be sure I’ll be keeping an eye on the race as it unfolds. Vive le Tour!

The Tooele City Redevelopment Agency approved a development agreement for a retail development on 1000 North, pending final approval of a site plan. 

The development agreement for the 33-acre property with M-53 Associates includes a tax increment agreement, assistance with acquiring water, and if necessary, a relocation of the city’s sewer line that crosses the property. 

The RDA would also allow residential density of 25 units per acre, though the latest plans did not include housing, according to the city’s RDA consultant, Randy Sant. 

“This agreement is basically a participation agreement with the redevelopment agency for funding and assistance with the development of that hope-soon-to-be-broken-ground retail development,” Sant said.

In exchange for concessions from the RDA, including $2.25 million in financing of $150,000 annually over 15 years and tax increment payments up to $4.75 million over 20 years, the developer agrees to obtain a temporary or permanent certificate of occupancy for at least 57,000 square feet of inline retail commercial development. 

While the RDA board, which is comprised of the Tooele City Council, approved the agreement during Wednesday’s meeting, a significant stipulation was attached to the approval. Board member Scott Wardle’s motion to approve the agreement, included the stipulation that the site plan, which was not yet available, must be approved by the board before Tooele City Mayor Debbie Winn signs off on the arrangement. 

Wardle’s motion was seconded by RDA board member Melodi Gochis and passed by a 4-0 vote, with RDA board member Steve Pruden absent. 

Prior to the discussion on the agreement, RDA Chairman Brad Pratt acknowledged the work it took to get the 1000 North development to this phase. 

“I want to thank all those that have worked on this for many, many years to get us to this point,” Pratt said. “It’s taken a lot of work and a lot of effort and involved a lot of people.”

The city’s RDA bought the property for $5.1 million in 2015 from Gilad Development to assure the site — deemed as a prime commercial/retail location in the city — wouldn’t be developed only for residential use.

A real estate purchase contract was signed between the RDA and M-53 in April 2018. The $4.2 million sale price to M-53 includes a stipulation that if M-53 does not begin construction within two years after closing, it must pay the RDA another $1 million.

The Tooele City Council approved an increase to most of its cemetery fees during its meeting Wednesday evening. 

The proposed cost of resident grave spaces and upright resident grave space will increase $100 to $600 and $900, respectively. The same increase was approved for non-resident grave space and upright grave space, to $1,000 and $1,300. 

Non-resident baby or cremation grave sites will remain at $300, with resident cremation and baby grave sites increasing $50 to $250. 

Tooele City Parks and Recreation Director Darwin Cook said the new cemetery fees were recommended by the cemetery staff, with the intention of falling more in-line with other area cemeteries. Tooele City has the most expensive resident grave spaces in the county’s largest communities at $600, higher than Stansbury Park at $400 and Grantsville City at $500. 

Grantsville City has the most expensive non-resident grave spaces at $1,500, substantially higher than Tooele City ($1,000) and Stansbury Park ($800). 

Cook said most of the changes were minor and increased to cover the cost of commodities like grave sites, which remain divided with different resident and non-resident fees. 

The opening and closing fees are now uniform for residents and non-residents, at $300 for typical grave sites and $200 for cremation or baby burial plots. 

“The service charges changes that we’re recommending for those fees will be a one fee for both resident and non-resident because they’re just a recuperation fee for the services the city employees are providing at the cemetery,” Cook said. 

The fee for resident disinterment of cremations was increased from $90 to $500, which is the same as Grantsville City and less than Stansbury Park charges, at $800. 

The update to the cemetery fee schedule was approved on a motion from City Councilman Brad Pratt, seconded by Councilwoman Melodi Gochis. The vote passed 4-0, with City Council Chairman Steve Pruden absent.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

David Nutzman

A Stockton Town Councilman has been deemed not qualified for the office after the town’s attorney determined he was not a registered voter when selected to fill a vacancy in a special election. 

David Nutzman, who was appointed to fill a mid-term vacancy on the Town Council on Feb. 22, 2018, was found to not be a registered voter and didn’t meet legal qualifications for the position, according to a July 15 legal opinion from Stockton Town Attorney Roger Baker.

Nutzman was appointed to fill the council seat opened by Thomas Karjola being selected as Stockton Town Mayor following the resignation of former mayor Mark Whitney. 

In Baker’s legal opinion, it stated Nutzman completed a driver license renewal application in December 2016 and checked “Yes” on the box next to the question asking about registering to vote where he lived. Nutzman did not, however, complete a voter registration form as required to finish registering to vote. 

The published notice for the council vacancy stated the candidate being a registered voter in the town of Stockton. When Nutzman took the oath of office as a member of the Town Council on March 8, 2018, he was still not a registered voter. 

The legal opinion said on June 13, Stockton Town Clerk Ashlee Wanlass verified Nutzman was qualified for office in anticipation of receiving his write-in candidacy application. After searching for Nutzman in the Tooele County Clerk’s website for confirmation of Nutzman’s voter registration, no entry was found for him. 

Wanlass spoke with Tooele County Clerk Marilyn Gillette, who confirmed Nuztman was not a registered voter on the county’s voter registration records, the legal opinion said. 

On June 24, Baker consulted with the state Office of the Lieutenant Governor regarding the facts of Nutzman’s situation, according to the legal opinion. While the lieutenant governor has no advisory or enforcement role in municipal election qualification matters, the office was of the opinion a person not registered to vote in a municipality can’t lawfully fill the office and the office is therefore vacant. 

Later that same day, Baker informed Nutzman he did not appear to be a registered voter when he was appointed to the Town Council, and still wasn’t, the opinion said. Nutzman indicated he thought he registered to vote when he renewed his driver’s license. 

Nutzman said he would meet with Gillette the following day and register to vote, if he was not, according to the legal opinion. 

On July 11, Nutzman acknowledged to Baker that when he renewed his license, he did not complete the voter registration form and did not receive one from the Driver License Division clerk or request he complete one. 

In Baker’s analysis and conclusion in the legal opinion, he stated that Nutzman didn’t meet the legal qualifications at the time he was appointed and did not solve the issue making him ineligible within the required 60 days. 

As a result, Nutzman is disqualified from the office, cannot serve during the present term and the office is vacant, according to Baker.

Attempts to reach Nutzman for comment before press time on Thursday were unsuccessful.

A wildland fire scorched 351 acres just north of South Rim after it was sparked yesterday afternoon. 

The fire was first reported at about 4 p.m. on Wednesday and quickly expanded up the mountainside and away from homes in the area, according to Tooele County Emergency Management. The blaze had grown to about 100 acres by 9 p.m. and continued to expand overnight. 

By Thursday morning, the fire had reached its maximum documented acreage and was deemed 100% contained by 11 a.m., according to Tooele County Fire Warden Daniel Walton. Fire crews are expected to remain on the scene throughout the day. 

The fire is believed to have been sparked after a bird landed on a nearby power line, which caused it to short, according to Stockton Fire Chief Justin Huffman. 

Two helicopter crews, an air attack plane, and four fixed-winged aircraft were used in firefighting operations, Huffman said. Firefighters from Stockton Fire Department, Tooele Army Depot Fire Department, Tooele City Fire Department, Rush Valley Fire Department, state Division Forestry, Fire and State Lands, federal Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service battled the blaze. 

Some homes were originally threatened by the fire but it was corralled away from residences and up the slope, according to Walton. Crews were able to slow the fire before it caused any damage to the communications tower at the peak of the mountain. 

All of the land burned in the fire was privately owned, according to Walton.

Col. Scott D. Gould took the reins of Dugway Proving Ground during a change of command ceremony Thursday morning, replacing Col. Brant D. Hoskins after he served his two-year stint as commander.

The change-of-command ceremony was overseen by Maj. Gen. Joe K. Tyler, of U.S. Army Test and Evaluation Command at Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland. Hoskins next assignment will be at Aberdeen. 

In his comments, Tyler praised Hoskins for his leadership at Dugway, acknowledging the unique mission and demands of heading the installation. 

“(Hoskins) has brought energy and focus, commitment and passion, and a vision to this place that I think was appropriate for the time,” he said. 

During Hoskins’ time at Dugway Proving Ground, the installation saw about 300 separate biological and chemical weapons detection tests. Tyler identified Hoskins work to look toward the future and the unique challenges facing remote installations.

“He grabbed this mission with both hands,” Tyler said. “As I said, he has been a tireless advocate, whether at the Pentagon or with visiting senior officials.”

Hoskins said he thoroughly enjoyed his time at Dugway Proving Ground and was optimistic and excited about the future of the installation. 

“We’ve come to love this place,” he said. “We’ve come to love this mission and we’ve come to love the people here, our partners and the rest of the rest of the folks throughout Utah.” 

During his time at Dugway, Hoskins created a vision for the future of the installation through a 2040 strategic plan. He also completed a paper on remote and isolated installations and opened up the commissary to contractors completing testing on site. 

During his remarks, Tyler took the opportunity to praise the fit of Gould at Dugway and said he was excited to have him working there.

“Suffice to say, the Army does some things right,” he said. “I think they picked the exact right leader with the exact right background to lead Dugway.”

Hoskins also passed along advice to Gould and his family on Dugway Proving Ground. 

“Embrace this place, these people and the mission, and you will not be disappointed,” Hoskins said. “I know Dugway will continue to go in the right direction under your leadership.”

The first impression for Gould of the Dugway mission and staff was all positive was described as all positive in his comments Wednesday morning. 

“To the people who are Dugway Proving Ground, over the last week you have impressed me with your dedication, your competence, your professionalism and your excellence,” he said. 

Gould said he firmly believed in Dugway’s mission to test biological and chemical detectors and protective equipment, as it helped him complete his mission in previous duty.  

“Please don’t let it be lost that I acknowledge what you do and how that affects the soldiers and empowers our nation’s defenders,” he said.

Gould last attended the U.S. Army War College prior to assuming command at Dugway. He previously served in several different capacities, including a deployment to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2009 while stationed at Fort Lewis.

At the conclusion of the comments by Hoskins and Gould, they were honored with Order of the Dragon medallions, a recognition of excellence from the Chemical Corps Regimental Association.

The Tooele City Fire Department plans for Pioneer Day like many Tooele County residents — getting together with family and friends, having a barbeque and lighting off fireworks. 

While fireworks are linked with the state holiday, another reality for firefighters around the county is fire. 

While it’s important to be safe when using fireworks any year, conditions this year are especially ripe for a significant fire, according to Tooele City Fire Chief Rick Harrison. Winter precipitation and a wet spring have combined for vegetation to grow quickly, but also dry out rapidly. 

Residents should remember to follow local laws about discharging fireworks, including where and when they’re permitted, Harrison said. 

In Tooele City, fireworks will be permitted in much of the downtown area. The borders for the firework approved area roughly follows 1000 West to the west and Droubay Road to the east.

The southern border of the firework area follows state Route 36, then Skyline Drive. The northern border is 2000 North west of SR-36, and approximately 1530 North until about 520 East, then to approximately 1480 North to Droubay Road. 

Anyone who lives in the restricted area can use fireworks at Dow James Park, while fireworks at Elton Park are prohibited, according to Harrison. 

Firework sales run through July 25. Fireworks can be used from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. on July 22 through July 25.

The hours fireworks can be discharged are extended to midnight on July 24. 

Harrison also said people using fireworks need to remember basic safety rules such as storing them in a cool, dry place, reading the directions on fireworks before lighting them, and always having an adult present.

Harrison also advised never pointing fireworks toward another person, keeping them away from dry grass, trees and other vegetation, and never experimenting or making your own fireworks. Anyone using fireworks should be careful not to put any body part over the firework when lighting it, stepping away from fireworks after they’re lit and to never attempt to relight a firework that doesn’t go off. 

When you collect used fireworks, place them in a bucket of water to ensure they’re extinguished, Harrison said, to avoid the possibility of them relighting. 

“It seems like every year we have a garbage can fire around midnight when fireworks get thrown away,” he said. 

It’s also important to be respectful of the time limit on fireworks, as there are some people who continue to shoot off fireworks after hours, Harrison said. 

“Have respect for your neighbors,” he said. “… We always have people lighting fireworks after midnight. And not only that, have respect for people’s pets.”

With so many people firing up their grills for the holiday, Harrison said it’s important to be safe when using them as well.  

Harrison recommended keeping grills outdoors and away from decks, railings, eaves and overhanging branches. Residents should also keep children away from grills and keep the cooking surface clean of grease. 

While it’s important to be aware of your surroundings when using fireworks or grills, Harrison said he hopes people can have fun on the holiday as well.

Elsewhere across the county, there are three designated areas where fireworks are permitted in Grantsville City, including two parks in housing subdivisions. The main area permitted for fireworks is bordered by West Street to the west, Durfee Street to the south, Clark Street to the north and Matthews Lane to the east. 

Fireworks will also be allowed in the homeowners association parks in the Anderson Ranch and South Willow Estates subdivisions.  

The use of fireworks in the towns of Rush Valley and Stockton are fully restricted this year. Fireworks are only permitted in Vernon in the town’s fire department parking lot. 

There are no restrictions on fireworks in Wendover, aside from on state and federal lands. Throughout the county, fireworks are not allowed on any federal land, including Bureau of Land Management, military and U.S. Forest Service property. 

Most of northern Tooele County, including Stansbury Park and Lake Point, do not have firework restrictions

An interactive, color-coded map of fireworks restrictions in the county is available at tooelecountysheriff.org/firewarden.htm. 

If anyone using fireworks causes or spreads a fire negligently, recklessly or intentionally, they are liable for the cost of fire suppression and any damages caused, according to state law.

The BLM also has year-round restrictions on exploding targets, tracer and incendiary ammunition, operating off-highway vehicles without spark arresters and sky lanterns or similar devices. 

An interactive, color-coded map of fireworks restrictions in the county is available at tooelecountysheriff.org/firewarden.htm.

Editor’s note: This is the first of a three-part series discussing illicit drug use in Tooele County, criminality linked to drugs and treatment and recovery in the county.

During a June 5 Tooele City Council meeting, a resident near the former Harris Elementary School spoke about her experience with two men using intravenous drugs in her front yard. 

The speaker was one of several residents in the area of 100 East who spoke in opposition of a proposed rezone that would permit a drug rehabilitation facility in the former elementary school. Other residents described people wandering through the neighborhood, trespassing in their lawns or loitering, in what they said was an attempt to get drugs. 

The public’s interaction with drug use disorder is often like that of the residents living near 100 East in Tooele, with people who are homeless or on the streets looking for drugs. When law enforcement makes an arrest, it’s rarely the people on the streets, said Detective Jay with the Tooele County Drug and Gang Task Force.

 Jay’s real name will not be used in the article to protect his identity and ongoing undercover investigations.

“We’re really going after the source of supply and it’s never who you think it’s going to be,” Jay said. “It’s not the people you see on the streets.”

“That’s the bottom user, that’s the end user,” added Tooele County Sheriff Lt. Eli Wayman. 

“And it does us no good as a law enforcement community to target the very bottom of the drug world,” Jay said. “… So a lot of times when we make an arrest and we seize whatever we’re going to seize, it’s never those people that the public sees. It’s never in the areas that the public thinks is the worst problem.”

“You always hear the neighbors say after a raid, ‘Wow, I lived next to them for years. I had no idea. I never would have known,’” said Grantsville City Police Sgt. Lydon Allred. 

From a socioeconomic standpoint, there’s no one group that avoids substance use disorder, according to Tooele County law enforcement. 

“I think we all could identify somebody in our family or something like that that’s been affected one way or another through use,” Wayman said. “Whether it be originally a pain medication where they became addicted to opioids, or they started with spice and now they’re addicted to marijuana or whatever it is … There’s no cultural or socioeconomic boundary that stops the use of it or prohibits it.”

While drug use may affect the full spectrum, it can be easier to mitigate some side effects of the disorder in wealthier families, which are rarely the face of the problem, Allred said. 

“I think a lot of your wealthier people, whether it’s the family hiding it or embarrassed by it, they have different places to go,” he said. “I think that’s a big part of it. It’s what you see.”

The rise of opioid use in Utah and around the country has also played a role in changing the face of substance use disorder. In 2017, there were 456 overdose deaths in Utah related to opioids, a rate higher than the national average per 100,000 persons, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. 

Of the deaths in 2017, 315 were connected to prescription opioid use, with 147 from heroin and 92 from synthetic opioids. 

In 2017, Utah providers wrote 63.8 opioid prescriptions for every 100 persons, higher than the national average of 58.7 prescriptions, according to NIDA. Both the rate of prescriptions per 100 persons and overdose deaths have declined from peaks in 2008 and 2014, respectively. 

A July 2017 assessment from the state Department of Human Services found Tooele County had the highest rate of opioid deaths in 2014-15, with 39, for a rate of 33.96 per 100,000 people. 

The connection to prescription drugs is one factor in getting the average person connected to opioids, Allred said. 

“Obviously if I walked up to someone and said, ‘Hey, try meth,’ they’re going to laugh at me,” he said. “But if a doctor says, ‘Hey, take this pill,’ you know, it’s doctor prescribed. It’s OK.”

Everyone knows someone who went in for surgery and were prescribed some kind of pain medication, Jay said. For many opioid users, it can eventually lead to heroin and other drugs. 

“It’s one, too, that I think is harder to track because you’ll get a lot of people that are addicted doing their normal day, taking pills or whatever, and they’re able to hide that addiction a little better,” Allred said. 

A kilogram of heroin goes for about $28,000 on the street right now, Jay said. With more heroin being laced with fentanyl and carfentanil, however, the amount needed to get high is minute, Wayman said. 

A side effect of the rise in opioid use is law enforcement officers in every agency in the county are now carrying naloxone, or the nasal spray alternative, Narcan. An opioid bonds to receptors in the brain, easing pain but slowing signals to the rest of the body. Most overdose deaths come when the victim’s breathing slows and eventually stops.

Naloxone works to knock the opioid from the receptors in the brain, essentially ending the high and sending the overdose victim into immediate withdrawal, which can be incredibly painful.

Tooele City Police Sgt. Jeremy Hansen said his agency averages about two Narcan uses a month. 

“When it’s given to them and they become coherent, they’re generally not overly happy,” he said. “… They don’t like the fact they were just given Narcan even though it just saved their life because it’s blocking those receptors in their brain and they know they’re going to get dope sick.”

While opioids, including prescription drugs and heroin, are among the most deadly drugs in the county, problems persist with methamphetamine, cocaine and other controlled substances. Much of the work to combat illicit drugs in Tooele County happens behind the scenes, with ongoing investigations out of the public eye, Wayman said. 

“The public does seem to get the idea there’s nothing going on in this fight against the problems that invade our community with the drugs and the property crimes,” he said. “While we can’t go into a lot of detail about the effort that is going on, there is a concerted effort to combat it.”

Despite the challenges facing the county from opioids and other drugs, the community doesn’t always want to talk about what’s really happening, said Allred. The public would rather just know law enforcement is handling it, which can be tough with the swing toward decriminalization, he said.  

“All this stuff is coming into play of what we’re trying to go up against and it’s hard to find that balance with the community of what we’re doing because of how they’re seeing it, how they’re perceiving it,” Allred said.

There can be blowback on local law enforcement on Facebook or other social media platforms for their handling of the drugs in the county. Another group paying attention to social media are drug dealers, who watch closely and if they feel the police are sniffing around, leads can turn cold, Wayman said.

‘We don’t disclose a lot of information for the sake of the investigation, to preserve the integrity of it,” he said. 

The county’s drug and gang task force gets tips all the time from people about someone who is possibly selling drugs or otherwise involved in the drug trade, according to Jay. What the public doesn’t always understand, he said, is investigations, which take time to do correctly, are required. 

“We have more of a control of what’s going on in this community than we ever have before,” Jay said. “We have more resources available, more manpower available, and a better idea and better funding than we ever have before to combat this drug problem.”

Editor’s note: This is the second in a three-part series discussing illicit drug use in Tooele County, criminality linked to drugs and treatment and recovery in the county.

Last Friday, the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food and the Utah Division of Purchasing released a list of eight permitted marijuana cultivators. 

The state only issued eight of the allowed 10 licenses to “avoid an oversupply of product, while still maintaining a healthy diversity of cultivators,” according to a statement issued by the state department and division. 

The licenses are the result of Utah voters approving Proposition 2 last November, which legalized medicinal marijuana. 

The legalization of medicinal marijuana in Utah, as well as legal recreational use in Nevada and Colorado, shows a shift in attitudes toward marijuana by American voters. In 2019, 11 states and the District of Columbia, have legalized marijuana for recreational use.  

The shifting legal landscape around marijuana required law enforcement to initially take a step back and analyze the changes, said Tooele County Sheriff Lt. Eli Wayman. 

“The Legislature did a pretty good job of outlining how the medical marijuana will be dispersed and distributed, and put together a pretty good game plan,” Wayman said. “So as far as the green leafy substance, that’s still illegal. It doesn’t change our approach with how we deal with that.”

Being stopped with a personal use of amount of marijuana doesn’t usually amount to more than a citation, according to Detective Jay with the Tooele County Drug and Gang Task Force. Jay’s real name will not be used in the article to protect his identity and ongoing investigations. 

The larger cases, which do result in criminal charges, involve indoor “grows” in the cities or unincorporated Tooele County, Jay said. There are usually several busts of grow operations in the county each year, according to Wayman. 

While it used to be relatively common to find marijuana grows in the county, the drug has become so readily available that most people don’t take the time to grow it, Wayman said. Marijuana coming into the county can have a variety of different points of origin, he said. 

“It can come out of California, it can come out of Washington,” Wayman said. “I mean, there’s a lot of states that have pretty good marijuana growing environments, so it just depends.”

A rise in marijuana use has also led to an increase in drug-related DUIs in Grantsville City. Allred said training to look for drug impairment is a factor but there has simply been an increase in people arrested for drug-related DUIs. 

Based upon numbers provided by the Grantsville City Police Department, the number of DUI arrestees has more than doubled over the past three years. There were 47 in 2016, 61 in 2017 and 103 in 2018. 

In 2018, there were more than three times as many DUI arrests for drugs as there were for alcohol. 

The same trend hasn’t been observed in other jurisdictions, as the Tooele County Sheriff’s Office reported a fluctuating number of DUIs over the past three years, with a majority for alcohol. 

The sheriff’s office reported 104 DUI arrests in 2016, with 22 related to drugs. Of the 61 reported in 2017, only six were drug-related and nine of the 73 DUIs reported in 2018 were connected to drugs. 

Whether discussing marijuana, methamphetamine, cocaine, heroin or any other drug, possession charges usually go hand-in-hand with property crimes, like theft, burglary or robbery, said Wayman. 

“Very seldom do we arrest someone for burglary or stolen vehicle or something like that where they don’t have some controlled substance or paraphernalia which would indicate they’re using a controlled substance,” he said. 

“The drug addiction directly fuels our property crimes in Tooele City,” said Tooele City Police Sgt. Jeremy Hansen. 

The story is the same in Grantsville City as well, Allred said. 

“If you look at the people that are stealing, why they’re stealing, nine out of 10 times its to support a habit,” he said. 

Drug use is the number one factor in rising property crimes and to say otherwise would be foolish, Jay said. He said supply and demand dictate the cost of product in the narcotic trade, just like any other commodity. 

“You don’t see too many people stealing $10 worth of stuff for $10. They’re doing it for a reason,” Jay said. “… The more expensive things are, the more people are going to have to steal to come with the cost for that.”

Most of the property theft and related offenses are crimes of opportunity, Wayman said. With population growth and so many people working outside the area, Tooele County is obviously a bedroom community, he said. 

“People know that the vast majority of the populace works in the (Salt Lake) valley and homes are left unattended,” Wayman said. “We very frequently get calls of people prowling around houses, checking doorknobs front and back, things like that.”

Shaking car door handles and copper thefts, especially wire, are very common, Hansen said. 

Property crimes have been on the rise throughout Tooele County. In the past five years, the Tooele City Police Department reported about 1,000 property crimes, primarily thefts, each year. 

Tooele City police received 1,048 property theft reports in 2014, which dipped to 964 in 2015 before jumping to 1,154 in 2016. In 2017 and 2018, the number of property theft reports were 1,083 and 1,126, respectively. 

The Tooele County Sheriff’s Office reported more than three time as many property crimes, including theft, larceny, burglary and robbery, between 2014 and 2015. The number jumped from 104 to 333 between the two years. 

Since the jump in 2015, the sheriff’s office reported 315 theft-related charges in 2016, 228 in 2017 and 249 in 2018. 

Property crimes showed more moderate fluctuations in reports from the Grantsville City Police Department. The total number of property crime offenses rose steadily between 2014 (197) and 2017 (308), before dipping in 2018 to 257. 

Allred said he’s noticed property crimes seem to be more related to heroin than other drugs. 

If someone is addicted to heroin and is using once or more a day, when they don’t have the money for more their body physically can’t handle not having it, said Jay. 

“It’s the one drug that people physically can get sick if they don’t have it,” he said. 

In addition to turning to property crime to get more of the drug, those with substance use addiction will also turn to dealing heroin or meth to support their own habit. 

“That’s very common, to have low-level street dealers strictly dealing dope to support their drug habit,” Jay said. 

In the past three years, the number of drug charges reported by the Tooele County Sheriff’s Office jumped from 141 in 2016, to 277 in 2017 and 339 in 2018. The Tooele City Police Department reported a rise in reports over the past three years as well, with 428 in 2016, 545 in 2017 and 551 in 2018. 

With less criminal penalty for possession and cheaper drugs from Mexico, less people in the United States and Utah are involved in illegal grows or production, according to Tooele County law enforcement. 

“When you’re talking about meth, heroin, cocaine — any of the big three — they’re all coming from Mexico,” Jay said. 

The “super labs” in Mexico produce hundreds of pounds of methamphetamine every day, which makes it more expensive, time-consuming and dangerous for Utahns to make themselves, according to Jay.  

It’s too readily available and too cheap to try and make it yourself,” Wayman said. “There’s just too many avenues if you really want to procure it.” 

Both Wayman and Jay said meth is one of the most prevalent drugs in Tooele County, but there hasn’t been an influx of it into the area. 

“We have a lot better control on enforcement, and from that we’re resulting in higher quantities of seizures,” Jay said. “But as far as it being more available or on the rise, I don’t believe so.”

The Tooele County Drug and Gang Task Force, at about three-quarters through the previous fiscal year, had seized upwards of 140 pounds of marijuana, several kilos of heroin, about a kilo of meth and “tons of pills, according to Wayman. More than 100 investigations were opened as a result of the task forces work.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

Mark A. Swan

A Grantsville man now facing 24 felony charges related to the sexual abuse of children made his initial appearance on a second case in 3rd District Court Tuesday morning. 

Mark A. Swan, 48, is charged with four counts of first-degree felony sodomy on a child, four counts of first-degree felony object rape of a child, two counts of first-degree felony aggravated kidnapping, and three counts of third-degree felony attempted sex abuse of a child in one case filed July 22.

In a second case, filed July 26, Swan is charged with two counts of first-degree felony rape of a child, one count of first-degree felony object rape of a child, three counts of first-degree felony sodomy of a child, two counts of aggravated sexual abuse of a child, and three counts of second-degree felony sex abuse of a child. 

Swan was arrested on July 19 after a parent of three children reported a man in the neighborhood had “inappropriately touched their children,” according to a probable cause statement from Grantsville City police. During an interview with investigators, the alleged victims, aged 7 to 13 years old, identified Swan as the perpetrator. 

During a forensic interview the children reported that Swan had exposed his genitals and tried to get them to touch his genitals. One of the alleged victims reported they had been raped by Swan over a period of more than four years, with the last incident occurring two days ago, according to the probable cause statement.

Since the initial report, one additional child came forward and said that Swan has “inappropriately touched his privates,” according to the probable cause statement.

In the second case, a child under the age of 14 told investigators she had been consistently sexually abused for the last two years by Swan, according to the probable cause statement. The victim indicated the abuse happened more times than they could recount but went into detail on several of the instances. 

Two of the instances of abuse occurred earlier this month, according to the probable cause statement. One of the incidents occurred at Swan’s house and the other near Adobe Rock. 

Another victim, also under the age of 14, was interviewed by investigators and indicated Swan touched them inappropriately over their clothing on three of the five times they visited his house. 

During Swan’s initial appearance in the first case on July 23, 3rd District Court Judge Matthew Bates assigned him no bail and he was appointed counsel. 

At his court appearance Tuesday morning, Chief Deputy County Attorney Gary Searle called Swan a serial child rapist and said he didn’t believe bail should be granted. 

Bates said he didn’t believe Swan, while facing extremely serious charges, met the standard for denying bail, and assigned a bail of $250,000 in each case. If Swan posts bail, he will be required to remain confined to his home with GPS or RFID monitoring. 

Swan is also not allowed to have personal contact with anyone under the age of 16, including his own children, should he be released from the Tooele County Detention Center. He is scheduled to return to court on Aug. 13. 

A Tooele man has been charged with several criminal counts after he was stopped by police for allegedly driving erratically on state Route 36. 

Jason Alan Bittinger, 42, is charged with third-degree felony driving under the influence of alcohol, as well as misdemeanor counts of interlock restricted driver operating a vehicle without an interlock device, alcohol restricted driver, driving on a denied license, reckless driving, and open container in a vehicle on the highway. 

Tooele County Dispatch was contacted on a report of an intoxicated driver heading southbound on SR-36 in Lake Point on July 22 at 1:27 p.m., according to a probable cause statement. The driver of a maroon Isuzu Rodeo was observed “swerving all over the road and throwing beer cans out of the car.” 

A UHP trooper observed the driver crossing the centerline three times, the statement said. The trooper stopped the vehicle as it pulled into the Holiday Oil on Bates Canyon Road. 

When the trooper made contact with the driver, later identified as Bittinger, he observed an open can of beer and could smell alcohol coming from the driver, the statement said. After asking the driver to step out of the vehicle, the trooper saw a half-empty case of beer on the passenger floor and three open beer cans, including one in the driver’s seat. 

A witness spoke with police and told them the driver nearly hit several people and “he thought the guy was going to kill someone,” the statement said. 

When police spoke with Bittinger, they could smell the odor of alcohol on his breath and a field sobriety test was performed, which determined he was impaired, the probable cause statement said. A preliminary breath test came back at .150, or three times the legal limit, and positive for alcohol. 

Bittinger’s license was alcohol restricted and suspended for an interlock device violation, the statement said. There was no interlock device in the vehicle. 

During his initial court appearance on Monday, Bittinger was ordered $5,000 bail and appointed counsel. He is scheduled to return to 3rd District Court on Aug. 13 at 9 a.m. for a scheduling conference before Judge Matthew Bates.

A Salt Lake City woman is facing criminal charges after she allegedly tried to leave with two children in a stolen vehicle without their father’s permission.

Jeannette Iva Brown, 38, is charged with two counts of second-degree felony attempted child kidnapping and one count of second-degree felony theft by receiving stolen property.

A Tooele City police officer was called concerning a custody problem on July 19, according to a probable cause statement. The father said Brown had come over to take his children out for ice cream, which was supposed to last about 20 minutes. 

Once the two children, both younger than 13, were not returned and phone calls were not answered for three hours, the father contacted dispatch, the statement said. While waiting for officers to respond to his call, Utah Highway Patrol troopers were called to a disabled vehicle on Interstate 80 near milepost 56. 

Troopers advised the children were with Brown, who was in a stolen vehicle, the probable cause statement said. When the father picked up his children, they told him and troopers Brown had taken the oldest child’s phone and threw it from the car as soon as they left the house. 

According to the children, Brown also said they would need to leave and change their names, the statement said. She said they might stop in Wendover to sleep, before continuing on. 

The UHP trooper then transported Brown to the Tooele City Police Department so she could be interviewed, according to the probable cause statement. 

Brown made her initial appearance in 3rd District Court on Monday morning before Judge Matthew Bates. She is scheduled to return to court for a scheduling conference on Aug. 13 at 9 a.m.