Show sfs gef By CLIFF THOMPSON Standard-Examin- er Staff SALT LAKE CITY — Earlier this year Gov Scott Matheson appointed a special commission to recommend a solution to what he called one of the more serious problems facing Utah and its people By its action this week the commission expressed agreement with the governor’s assessment of the drinking driver problem and a belief it will take some tough laws and stiff penalties to solve it During what should be one of its final meetings the commission unanimously approved a series of strong measures that would give police officers authority to confiscate the license of anyone suspected of drinking and could result in prison sentences of up to 15 years if a drinking driver causes a fatality If the sweeping and revolutionary recommendations are accepted by the governor and written into law by the legislature Utah would have the toughest laws and stiffest penalties for alcohol impaired driving of any state in the union First the commission wants to make it easier to convict a drinking driver by eliminating the 08 percent alcohol blood content the current law presumes as driving under the influence (DUI) The commission recommended the stif-fe- r penalties apply to drivers whose ability to operate a vehicle safely has been “even slightly impaired” by alcohol and drugs “A driver doesn’t have to be falling down drunk” to be a hazard asserted Judge Larry Keller who headed the judicial subcommittee that presented most of the hard line measures to the commission Keller got a strong endorsement from Bountiful Police Chief Larry Higgins who also spoke out in favor of allowing confiscation of the license of a suspected “alcohol impaired” driver at the time of the arrest Higgins and Utah Highway Patrol Col Dennis Nordfelt also endorsed a proposal authorizing officers to make “warrantless arrests” for DUI Under present law an officer has to witness the actual offense — see the person driving the car — before he can make an arrest If the officer didn’t actually see the offense committed Norfelt said the driver can’t be arrested unless a person who did see it agrees to sign a complaint — in effect make a citizen’s arrest He gave this example : A citizen reports tipsy dhrivimg a specific vehicle has been spotted driving erractically at a high rate of speed An officer finds the vehicle parked with the driver either inside or outside the car obviously under the influence of alcohol “Even if the driver is falling down drunk” he said the officer can’t make an arrest unless he goes and obtains a warrant from a judge Several other law enforcement officers joined Higgins and Nordfelt in authorizing arrests without a warrant “when there is reasonable cause to believe” a person has been driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs Under questioning from commission members Nordfelt said officers would need to use the same criteria and rules of evidence they do in felony cases And “felony” was a word that arose often during the discussion leading up to the stiffer penalties for alcohol or drug impaired driving The commission recommended raising two DUI offenses to the level of felonies Conviction of DUI involving an accident with injuries would carry a penalty equal to the current third degree felony penalty — one to five years in prison and a $5000 fine fews am o Conviction of DUI resulting in a fatality After considerable discussion the comwould carry a one to 15 year sentence and mission reduced the revocation for DUI a $10000 fine resulting in a fatalty to five years Howev“Taking a life while under the influence er the commission insisted the license not of alcohol is at least as serious as commit- be reissued unless the driver presented ting a burglary” Keller asserted proof of rehabilitation The commission wants a one year prison The commission also considered but sentence and a $1000 fine for the first tabled a suggestion for special marking of offense without injury or death However the commission is recommending the period of license revocation for a first offense be reduced from the present one year to three months The commission recommended a provision be written into the law stating a person “can’t refuse” a blood alcohol test in the case of a death or a potential death There was some arguments put forth on the commission for provisions even tougher than those approved during the r session Among the recommendations rejected or tabled were provisions to write into state law a minimum sentence that a judge would have to impose for the various DUI offenses lifetime revocation of the driving license when death results from alcohol impaired driving and the impoundment and sale of a vehicle driven on a license revoked as the result of drinking driving five-hou- the driving license and auto license plates of a person convicted of DUI Throughout the marathon session State Rep Duane Johnson argued for a provision to require periodic publishing a record of how each judge disposes of DUI charges Johnson said the judges are a key link in resolving the drinking driving problem and should be held publicly accountable for their disposition of alcohol and drug related charges However he agreed setting minimum sentences probably would not be effective saying judges would ignore such legislation Asked if he was implying judges would “break the law” Johnson replied “they are the law “Judges are a special breed — a good breed — but a special breed” he said Intermountain briefs Colorado Mormon temple scrapped GREENWOOD VILLAGE Colo in the Denver area which have (UPI) — Leaders of the Mormon been considered as possibilities for Church have abandoned plans to the temple Natli Molloy a Greenwood Vibuild a temple in this affluent Denver suburb mainly because of re- llage city council member said sidents’ complaints about in- another Greenwood Village locacreased traffic in their neighbor- tion of 7V2 acres had been offered the church but that site had been hood d Lake Salt determined to be unacceptable by Don LeFevre director of press relations city officials Ms Molloy said the alternative for the Church of Latter-da- y Saints said church leaders now site in the exclusive suburb was “are going to sit back and decide” unacceptable because of six steewhat to do about choosing another ples one as high as 112 feet wouldn’t be approved by the counsite for their first Colorado temple He said when the new site is cil for that part of the city “We even demanded that the Naselected “the church will work tional Cattlemen’s Association with the neighbors” LeFevre said he doesn't know the take five feet off their flagpole” in locations of any of the other 20 sites the city she said City-base- Life United Press International Rescue workers aid Hells Angel John Strasser after he was shot in the back while riding alone near Copper Mountain Colo Hells Angel ambushed FRISCO Colo (UPI) — Authorities refused to speculate whether the shooting of a Hells Angel might be linked to several rival motorcycle gangs that arrived in the Frisco area this week John “Big John” Strasser 42 of Van Nuys Calif was hit in the back Thursday by a shotgun blast that knocked him from his Harley Davidson on a mountain highway near the campsite of about 300 other Angels Neither Strasser nor his companions knew whether the assailant was in a car or on another motorcycle About 15000 bikers who finish- ed a weeklong meeting in Sturgis SD were recently in the Frisco area but police did not ©carmen meears LOGAN Utah (UPI) — Prosecutors hoped today tb conclude a hearing to determine whether the mother of a baby slain by in a religious ritual should be bound over for trial on charges that she withheld evidence about the killing A telephone operator testified Thursday that defendant LeAnn Lundberg 24 tried to call an amubulance the night her baby bled to death after her husband stabbed the infant in a sacrificial rite Switchboard operator Susan Wright said dur- ing the preliminary hearing for Mrs Lundberg that she transferred the call to the Logan Hospital emergency room but the phone went dead Mrs Lundberg is charged with obstruction of justice by withholding evidence in the case Her husband Rodney was acquitted of murder charges in the case by reason of insanity but was then committed to the State Mental Hospit- al Wright said she called the Lundberg home to find out what happened but a man Ms day The body of Christopher Swan was found about 10:30 am by a Salt Lake County Parks and Recreation worker who was cleaning a grate in the river at about 21st South and 13th West Searchers continued dredging the river for the infant’s mother Caroline Swan 17 The girl never returned to her parents’ home after telling them last Friday she was going to show her baby to her ex-boyfrie- nd i at bikers gathering know if the shooting involved the others No suspects were arrested An investigation was undertaken by local sheriff’s deputies whose ranks were quadrupled last week as a precaution for the gang’s visit Strasser was taken by ambulance to St Anthony Hospital in Denver where he was listed in good condition late Thursday Hospital spokesman Art Peterson said Strasser reported he fell into a grassy area adjacent to Interstate 70 after the shooting He said the Angels ac- companying Strasser were angered by a bevy of television reporters and cameramen who assembled at the hospital to await Strasser’s arrival end m rafiycal deealfG answered and told her everything was fine and the ambulance was not needed Defense attorney David Daines asked that charges against Lundberg be dropped because Wright’s testimony proved the mother was son Justin But trying to save her S Marc Johnson motion the denied Judge Justin bled to death from a knife wound Nov 23 An autopsy has shown the wound itself would not have been fatal had it received prompt attention The woman is accused of hiding evidence that her husband stabbed their baby during the religious ritual then let the child bleed to death while waiting for god to heal him Prosecutors said the mother took the knife used in the ritual and hid it in her garden Earlier in the hearing Brent Allen a neighbor of the Lundbergs testified that he tried to take the baby to the hospital after the child was wounded but the father insisted faith would heal the child He said Lundberg told him he was eing tested like Abraham in the popular Biblical story In the story Abraham is told by God to caby's body found SALT LAKE CITY (UPI) — Gary Valdez 22 was booked in the Salt Lake County Jail on suspicion of murder after the body of a baby boy missing with his mother for nearly a week was found floating in the Jordan River Thurs- Thursday am sacrifice his beloved son Isaac as a test of faith — but God intercedes at the last moment and the boy is saved At Lundberg’s preliminary hearing Allen testified that Lundberg told him he put Justin on a table gripped a knife with both hands closed his eyes and slowly lowered the blade toward the child praying for God to stop him Allen testified Lundberg stabbed himself right after his unsuccessful pact with God and Allen twice carried him to an auto to take him to the hospital But Allen told the court each time he returned to the apartment to get the baby Lundberg followed him He said Lundberg insisted faith would heal the child At that point he said Mrs Lundberg made no move to take the child to the hospital herself He said Mrs Lundberg did not override her husband because she “wanted that to be true” Johnson is a Bountiful circuit court judge but he traveled to Logan to preside over the case after the two circuit court judges in Logan disqualified themselves because of their knowledge of the case rover mean held She was last seen standing on the corner of Third East and Doreen Street by Salt Lake City Police Detective Judy Dencker who was on her way home from work Police have also been looking for a bicyclist who also might have been a witness Christopher’s body was taken to the Utah Medical Examiner’s Office where it was positively identified A sheriff’s dispatcher said the body was originally thought to be that of a 2- - to because it had absorbed a great deal of water from the river The discovery of the baby’s body led to a break in the case after an unsuccessful search Wednesday by nearly three dozen deputies in the fields northwest of the Salt Lake International Airport Sheriff’s Lt Dean Carr said the search which used helicopters and dogs was based upon “some information and evidence received during the course of the investigation which showed that might be a primary place to look” Also on Wednesday Sheriff Pete Hayward and a prosecutor from the Salt Lake County Attorney’s office met with attorney Robert Van Sciver and three potential witnesses in the case Carr refused to disclose any details of the meeting saying the information would jeopardize his case The girl had been thinking about legal action to establish the identity of thef ather of her child when the two disappeared investigators said span on the rise for Utahns SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Life expectancy for Utah’s men and women increased by two years between 1970 and 1980 the Utah Department of Health’s Bureau of Health Statistics says John Brockert bureau director said Utah males at one year of age in 1980 can expect to live 719 years up from a 1970 life expectancy of 698 years Utah females born in 1980 can expect to live 785 years up from 765 years in 1970 he said Nationally the last figures for life expectancy were compiled in 1978 Brockert said At that time white males could expect to live 702 years on the national average white females 778 years Getaway car found in Woods Cross WEST BOUNTIFUL Utah (UPI) was abducted from a pizza parlor — Police have found the getaway in Woods Cross Tuesday and taken car used by three professional ban- to his home dits in the kidnap of a bank officer Campbell his wife and infant son and subsequent robbery of the were held hostage overnight and Bountiful branch of Tracy Collins at dawn the family was taken to the Bank and Trust The auto belonging to bank officer David Campbell was found Thursday at the Garden Apartments in Woods Cross Campbell bank where other bank officers were also taken hostage and forced to open the bank vault The men escaped with a substantial amount of cash and property Teton's death toll reaches six and was unable to stop crashing into some rocks approximately 400 feet below A companion climbing with Gordon Maureen Flanigan was below him when he fell vut returned and found him unconscious rendered aid and went for help Atchison said Rangers were notified about 4 11618-foo- t an Peak pointment but when they arrived less summit near the Grand Teton pm than an hour later Gordon was when he fell Wednesday dead Atchison said Atchison said Gordon fell on a Rangers evacuated the body by steep snow slope about 2:30 pm helicopter Wednesday night GRAND TETON NATIONAL PARK Wyo (AP) — The year’s fatality toll among mountain climbers in Grand Teton National Park has risen to six with the death of a Jackson man officials say Alan Atchison the park’s chief ranger said Paul Gordon 36 was descending from a climb of Disap- Animal virus spreads to humans MESA Colo (AP) — A barnyard animals shipped to Montana from d domvirus that affects estic animals has spread to humans medical officials say Missy Boruch 17 of Mesa was hospitalized for four days for treatment of dehydration caused by the virus Her mother Joyce said seven of the family’s 30 horses have contracted the virus Dr Patricia Webb of the state Public Health Department is investigating the apparent spread of the Colorado and from four other Western states are being quarantined for seven to 10 days The virus which in animals-causelesions in the mouth that make it difficult to eat is not considered “really serious” in humans said John Pape a state Health Department epidemiologist in Grand Junction Pape said humans experience lesions in the mouth and possibly the as and feet with mild fever hands known virus vesicular to humans Humans usually recover within a' stomatitis mafew days he said The virus i not Health officials say the first jor outbreak of vesicular stomatitis fatal for animals clearing up on its is under way now The virus has own in seven to 10 days been detected in horses pigs ind Officials from the Federal cattle in 22 Colorado counties all Veterinarian Clinic in Denver say but six on the Western Slope A it appears the virus is spread by total of 74 cases have been reported insects but this has not been in Colorado this year through Tues- proven The last time the viral infection day Because of the highly Contagious was reported at such an alarming nature of the virus all domestic rate was in 1966 split-hoove- s f |