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Show (Hit Towns SEQION 2mltjHcral& Li MONDAY, MAY 26, METRO EDITOR I Amie Rose 2008 aroseighefaIdextra.com 344-253- TJOHDAY CLOSE-U- P A sport called murderball A Whether family, friends or strangers, one thing binds us together: Utah Valley is home. Here is i Jr - - . .v , ' ' X X x ... - Xv, x '1) -- - - Josh Wheeler wraps tape around his gloved hands before beginning a track workout at the BYU gym Thursday. the story of one of us, Josh Wheeler. iL o - STORY AND PHOTOS BY CRAIG DILGER x ;A ; ... XX N. V , ,. ,V."3U. . - , 'f 1 js 1 '"'J. Josh Wheeler carries the ball towards the goal line during a tournament wheelchair rugby game against the Sin City Skulls in Park City on Friday. "My attitude has been for a long time that if there is nothing you can do about it then don't worry about it and get over it." Josh Wheeler, murderball athlete i , ' x Craig Dilger I r I? i DAILY I Josh Wheeler pulls his wheelchair into his van on his way to the BYU indoor track for a workout on Thursday. Wheeler lives independently despite his injuries and works out on most days before work. HERALD he deafening thud of metal crashing into metal fills the gymnasium of Park City High School during the D--3 National Wheelchair Rugby Tournament. Spectators gasp and latch onto their seats with white knuckled grips as Josh Wheeler loses balance from the impact and tips his custom "wheelchair onto its side. Because he's strapped in, he's unable to get up on his own. So a team rushes onto the court, flips the chair back up and Wheeler is back in the game as if nothing has happened. Moments later Wheeler skillfully pilots his chair, which looks like a dented hulk of junkyard scraps, across the goal line for yet another point. They call the sport "murderball." "The fact that my last name is Wheeler and I am in a wheelchair is kind of funny," said Wheeler, who lives in Provo. "But I have only been in a chair for two years, and I have had the nickname of "Wheels" since the first grade. It is kind of funny to me that everything is ironic and now sometimes people are scared to call me "wheels" because I am in a wheelchair and I might get offended or something." The reality is that it would take a lot more than a simple nickname to offend Wheeler, and even more to get him down. Wheeler lost the use of his legs and partial use of his left hand after a serious motorcycle accident. He said his biggest struggle after the injury was being dependent on other people, though he's learned to do almost everything for himself now. But e despite the severe injuries, which make tasks difficult, Wheeler is perpetually smiling and once-simpl- See MURDERBALL, C2 Poll: Huntsman, Shurtleff hold strong leads Utah 800 years overdue for an earthquake THE ASSOCIATED PRESS A new poll SALT LAKE CITY shows incumbent Republican Gov. Jon Huntsman and Attorney General Mark Shurtleff holding substantial leads in their races for The poll for the Deseret News and KSL-Tshowed Huntsman has the support of 77 percent of registered voters. Shurtleff has 65 percent support. The poll of 604 registered voters was conducted by Dan Jones & Associates, It has an error margin of 4 May percentage points. The Deseret News published the results in a copyright 13-1- story Sunday. Neither Huntsman nor Shurtleff has a challenger in the GOP primary. In November, Huntsman faces Democrat Bob Springmeyer and Libertarian Dell Schanze. Shurtleff will face Democrat Jean Welch Hill and Libertarian W. Andrew McCullough. The poll showed 90 percent of Republicans favor Huntsman along with 52 percent of Democrats and 69 percent of political independents. Thirteen percent of respondents chose Springmeyer and Schanze got 1 percent. Eight percent were undecided. Huntsman said last week that he's heartened by the poll but said he won't take it for granted or let it influence what Issues he'll tackle. "I really don't view the world in terms- of political capital," Huntsman said. "People either like what you're doing or they don't." Springmeyer said he's encouraged by his 13 percent. He said his main job now is getting voters to learn more about him. "We have some momentum, we're moving up," he said. "Frankly, I expect to win this thing. It will be a great year for Democrats" in Utah. In the poll, Shurtleff received 82 percent of Republicans' vote, 34 percent support from Democrats and 54 percent s from independent voters. About of voters supported his according to the poll. Hill got 17 percent and McCullough 3 percent while 13 percent were undecided. VVmV.HCRALDtXTRA.COM f two-third- - CAU TO SUBSCRIDE Judy Fahys SALT LAKE TRIBUNE W1LLARD, Utah -Geo- logists studying two trenches gouged from the foothills here might as well be peering through windows on the past and into the future. Christopher DuRoss, of the Utah Geological Survey (UGS). says the data being collected e on this section of the Wasatch Fault can help pinpoint when a big earthquake might 240-mil- happen again and how severe it might be. Ultimately, that information will help people prepare for the hazard, especially those living between Brigham City and North Ogden. "The Brigham segment has the highest probability of a quake," DuRoss says. Initial research on the Wasatch Fault more than 20 years large-magnitu- See QUAKE, C2 JxJ |