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Show The Park Record Wed/Thurs/Fri, April 26-28, 2017 W ay we were The perfect storm Green Tips Grand Valley Bank goes green By Mary Closser Recycle Utah By David Nicholas Park City Museum Researcher Airmen of the 88th Reconnaissance Squadron based at Fort Douglas prepared their B-18 for a routine mission to Denver’s Lowry Field on Sunday, Nov. 15, 1941. The six-man crew left the U.S. Army Air Corps airbase at the Salt Lake airport at 3:20 p.m. They were to pick up their new commanding officer, Maj. E.L. Pirtle, who was driving from Kansas with his family. The family would complete the road trip themselves. The weather in both cities was perfect: clear and calm, with unseasonably warm temperatures. We’ll never know if the crew discussed the 11 fatal accidents involving B-18s that had already occurred in 1941. The airworthiness — or lack thereof — was well-known to flyers of the aircraft. During the return flight, at 11:22 p.m., the navigator reported Park City Historical Society and Museum, Carolyn Meyer Collection Frank Stone, front row center, stands with his Silver King Coalition Mines colleagues in 1936. The doomed B-18’s engine noise drew Stone from his home just after midnight in time to see the distress flares released by the plane moments before it crashed. an ominous observation near Park City: thunderstorms. The “routine mission” was over. Nighttime thunderstorms viewed from the safety of a modern airliner at 35,000 feet are spectacular. But in an underpowered B-18 at 14,000 feet, they’re a death sentence. It had been 63 degrees in Park City that afternoon, but weather changed abruptly. Just after midnight, a powerful cold front triggered violent winds and blizzardlike conditions. The B-18 stood no chance. Powerful downdrafts and icing quickly overwhelmed the plane. Realizing the grave situation, Pirtle issued the order to abandon ship. The plane circled low over Park City dropping distress flares. Pirtle and Sgt. Jack Anderson held the plane steady as the other five crewmen bailed. In its death throes, plane engine’s roar awakened several residents. Sil- A-13 ver King mechanic Frank Stone saw the flares. Broadcasting “Mayday! Mayday!,” Anderson relayed the plane’s location as best he could. In the remaining minutes, Pirtle bailed. The B-18 rolled and slammed into Iron Mountain, bursting into flames. Anderson died on impact. William Woods (Frank Stone’s neighbor) reported an explosion in the vicinity around 12:30 a.m. The fire alarm sounded and residents were advised to be on the lookout for survivors. Over the next two hours, the five airmen who’d bailed first were found and admitted to the Miners Hospital. Miraculously, the most serious injury was a broken ankle. That Monday morning, Parkites joined military personnel looking for the plane, which was found, along with Anderson’s body, by 9 a.m. Eighteen-year- old Clifford Leatham discovered Pirtle’s body two miles away; his parachute had ripped on the plane’s antenna as he’d bailed. Pirtle, 34, was survived by his wife and three daughters. Anderson, 20, of Ogden, was survived by his parents and seven siblings. Three weeks later, the events at Pearl Harbor necessitated a suitable wartime bomber. The answer was Boeing Model 299 – rejected by the Army Procurement Office in 1935 – now known as the B-17 Flying Fortress. Throughout the war, nearly 13,000 were produced. With a total production of less than 300, the B-18 was reassigned to coastal patrol. The bravery demonstrated by Pirtle, Anderson and the others set the tone for the “Greatest Generation.” Gary Kimball, Steve Leatham, Terry Mullane and Oz Crosby contributed to this article. Grand Valley Bank’s motto is “friendly people with a personal approach to every customer.” The bank, which opened its doors in 2012 in Park City, is also locally owned, so its employees understand the needs of people in our community. The Grand Valley Bank staff also understands the need to preserve our beautiful community, thus the reason to join the Green Business program. Yes, the bank recycles the basics of cardboard, paper and plastics via a hauler, but it also takes the extra step to transport electronic waste, bulbs, batteries and more to Recycle Utah via its staff. It also donates extra sealed food from bank events to the Christian Center food pantry and highly encourages its customers to enroll for e-statements, instead of paper snail mail. Completing the loop, it purchases some paper materials with recycled content and hopes to continue this trend. It’s changed all paper and plastic disposables used by staff to reusable products, and will soon transition customer cups to products made out of plant-based renewable resources, instead of oil (plastic). Additionally, energy improvements are being fine-tuned with motion detectors and sensors. Eventually, the bank will transition all lights to LEDs. Reaching for the not-so-distant stars, the bank has solar panels not too far down the list. Recycle Utah is thrilled to have Grand Valley Bank join the nonprofit’s blossoming program. The bank’s staff is willing to learn and dedicated to making sustainable choices. If your business, any type, is interested in learning about Recycle Utah’s Green Business program, contact 303-449-9698, ext.13. Community nonprofit Recycle Utah, a drop-off recycling center, provides these weekly tips. Visit its website for more information: www.recycleutah.org Slaughterhouses not up to standard Associated Press SALT LAKE CITY — An animal welfare organization is criticizing Utah state officials for not doing enough in response to six cases of inhumane treatment at slaughterhouses over a six-year span. The Salt Lake Tribune reported the Animal Welfare Institute in Washington, D.C. gives Utah a failing grade in a new report this month. The organization says Utah had a low rate of enforcement action compared to other states. Utah state officials counter the criticisms by saying the six violations from 2010-2015 show they are handling the programs well. Utah has 56 federally inspected and 10 state-inspected slaughterhouses. Of the six incidents that had to be reported to the federal government, one was considered egregious. That was a 2014 incident when a lamb had to be stunned twice after the first attempt in the “knock box” didn’t work. 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