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Show he Salt LakeTribune UTAH Tobacco Cash Caught in LegalGlitch fETOy, FRIBAY FOR THE RECORD,C-2 ROLLY & WELLS WSTATE OF THE STATE, C-3 MEUTAH BRIEFS, C-3 JANUARY22, 1999 Survey data needed — and Utah law saysit can’t be gathered until kids return permissionslips PAUL ROLLYand JOANN JACOBSEN-WELLS © 1999,TheSalt Lake Tribune Prescription Has Chasers: 3 Cop Cars, Helicopter After Pam MeCarty took a prescription from her doctor’s nurse practitioner to her regular pharmacy in Magna Wednesday, the pharmacist followed her to her car and wrote down her license plate number. Heading northbound toward 2100 South en-route to her Stansbury Park home,she passed two southbound police cars with lights flashing. Wondering why the pharmacist wrote down her license, she phoned him on her cell phone. He said when hecalled her doctor's office, the office managersaid they had not writ- ten that prescription and they were missing a prescription pad. Minuteslater, after being spotted bya police helicopter, McCarty’s car was surrounded by three police vehi- cles. As the officers were running a check on herdriver license and registration, McCarty received a return call from her physician’s office man- ager. It seems that the nurse practitioner had recalled writing the prescription that caused ail the trouble. It was for 10 Tylenoi with codeine. o One Big Happy Family Although the election is over, Salt Lake County Commission Chairman Mary Callaghan wasted no time hav- BY KATHERINE KAPOSand JUDY FAHYS THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE It is no surprise that junior and senior students were sexually active. While the law was meantto keep those inappropriate questionsout of the class- high schoolstudents still forget to return parental permissionslips. But today, their forgetfulness is stall- collection of data needed to manageessential government programs,” said associate school superintendent Doug Bates, whooverseeslegal mattersfor the ing plans for how millions of dollars — coming to Utah from national tobacco companies each year — will be spent. Part of the problem maybea state law requiring parents to sign permission slips before their children can participate in surveys taken at their public school. ‘The law waspassedfive years ago, af- ter it was learned that a few Utah teachers had used questionnairesto find outif ing and paving firms and construction materials manufacturers,all industries heavily used by the Public Works Department. Oo Trying Too Hard? Oneof the hottest issues at the Utah Legislature this year is the bat- tle between banks and credit unions overthe latter’s tax exempt status. Besides the hundreds of thousands of dollars the two sides have spent on advertising and lobbyist fees, legislators have been flooded with handwrit ten letters on each side oftheissue. Somelegislators received a packet from the Utah Bankers Association that contained instructions on how to write handwritten letters to legisla. tors to persuade the lawmakers to vote on the bankers’ side. It contained a sample letter and talking points from which the writer could choose. Bankers Association Director Howard Headlee admits that was a mistake, Fach packet was labeled with the addressee at the top and the which surveysteens about drug andalco- hol use for state prevention programs. Division Director Leon PoVey said that before the parental permission law, about 95 percent of studentsin a school sampling wouldparticipate in the anony- moussurveys. was sponsored bythe Credit Unions ‘The bankers werenot invited Butat least they weregiven equal billing with the credit unions as spon: sors of the Democratic Party's raiser, whatever that's worth. Qo Wearing Two Hats Whilediscussion continues about public officials’ conflicts of interests, it is interesting to note that Phil Rie Sen, news director for Jacor Broad. casting’s KALL, KKAT, KNRS, KODJ, KURR and 94.9 ZHTradio Stations, is the paid mouthpiece on ads for the credit unions R COPY| But the Legislature needs the best spend the millions of dollars that will come into its coffers during the next few See SURVEYS,Page C-9 in connection wit! under the influence (DUI) — punishable by up to 5 years in pris- Wilford Lynn on. Had the accident occurred a month earlier, McCullogh would have faced — at most — a class A misdemeanor, NcCullogh punishable only by up to 1 yearin jail. “Becky's Bill” — named after Re- becca Gallagher, who died after a November 1997collision with a drunken driver — became effective May 31. Thebili calls for drunken drivers to be charged immediately with a felony in cases wherevictimsarelikely to die from crash injuries. Oregon remains the only state still prosecuting DUIs with serious injury as misdemeanors. Mothers Against Drunk Drivers Vice President Mary Phillips said it is “rewarding” to see the bill being used in prosecutions. McCullogh’s blood-alcohol level was 0,28 — 342 times the legal limit — when he struck 39-year-old attorney Todd Snow Richardson, according to testimony at a Thursday preliminary hearing Richardson was astride a motorcycle and waiting for a red light on a Sunday evening at 3900 S. 500 East, Salt Lake County, when McCullogh’s pickuptruck hit him from behind Richardson suffered near-fatal headinjuries and still cannot care for himself “The accident caused serious injury Michnel J. Miller/The Salt Lake Tribune Ann Warburton ofPark City digs her car out from undera load of snow supplied by Thursday morning's storm. If You Ski, Start Squealing ‘Yippee’ Snowbasin resort nowhas the white stuff to open. Park City gets a 26-inch dump BY KARL CATESand BRE THE SALT LAKE TRIE ISRAELSEN Winter's biggest storm dumped copi- ous amounts of snow in northern Utah mountains Thursday, allowing Snowbasin Ski Area to finally open for the season today. “It's beenfrustrating. It’s been hard to believe we've been shut down this long,” Snowbasin general manager Gray Reyn: old told The Associated Press. “But now we're getting the snow we should have got in December. We couldn't be happier, and we're looking forward to a great opening.” Snowbasin office manager Rita Arne- son said most of the Ogden-area resort's nine lifts will be runningtodayafter the ski area received some 20 inches of new snow on Thursday. While she spoke, skipatrol dispatches over an office radio re- layed a “fire-in-the-hole” warning a5 crewsset off an avalanche-controlblast Today marksthelatest start for Snowbasin, the site planned for the downhill competition during the 2002 Winter Olympics, The previous record was Jan. 19, 1997, Other northern Utahski resorts have been open for weeks but were just as pleased to see plentyof fresh powder. “It’s a breath of fresh air,” said Mike Grass, spokesman for The Canyonsoutside Park City, which received 26 inches of new snow dyring a 24-hour period. “People showed up a half-hour before the lifts opened and stood out in the cold just so they could be first.” The storm closed Little Cottonwood Canyon for the day, and triggered a small avalanche across an Alta Ski Area hotel parking lot, but Alta officials did not seem to mind. “Skiing’s going to be great Friday,” said general manager Onno Wieringa. By midday Thursday, Wieringa reported, it had snowed 2 inches an hour since mid- An all-in-one Utahski pass? E4 rain showers. On Saturday, a weaker storm will sweep across “extreme north- ern Utah,” from 1-80 to Idaho, said Wil- liam Alder, chief meteorologist for the Utahoffice of the National Weather Service. Valley temperatures are forecast for 40 today and mid-40s on Saturday. The heavy snowfall in the mountains, combined with high winds, is prompting officials to issue avalanche warnings. In Big Cottonwood Canyon, Brighton was open practically all day Thursday, save for a couple of hours when the canyon road wasclosed for plowing. Marketing Director Dan Malstrom said the latest dump bolstered snow bound Interstate 80 in Parleys Canyon to a standstill. depths from a string of smaller storms. In total, he said, Brighton received 63 inchesof snow in five days, creating an 87-inch base, about a foot below average for this timeof year. “We're getting caught up fast, though,” said Malstrom, who expected this morning's measure to approach 100 cloudy skies with scattered snow and See SNOWSTORM,Page C-8 night The storm was the biggest wave in a weeklong series of disturbances to hit the Wasatch Front. By midmorning, it had promptedpublic schools toclose in Park City and broughttraffic on eastToday's forecast calls for partly See DUI, Page C-9 Forest Service Recruiting the Utah Legislature's 45-day session data available to determine howbest to Sen. Joseph Hull, D-Hooper, said it might be wrong to blamethe law creating the permission slips. The problem a June 28 crash. He is charged with third-degree felony driving while ‘Partners’ in Environment al Republican Party fund-raising breakfast preceding the opening of PoVeysaid it is unavailable. “‘As of today, I can’t give it to them,” hesaid. On Thursday, Wilford Lynn McCul- Headlee says about 40 legislators received the insider knowledge about the strategy to be used on them. Craig Moody, Interestingly, the annu- suming burden, PoVeysaid. smoke. “We need that data,” she said. “We need that research.” logh, 52, of Salt Lake City, was o deredto stand trial The Post Office read the top name clude Republican State Chairman Rob Bishop, recently departed Republican State Executive Director Spencer Stokes and past GOP State Chairman survey involves surveying 20,000 students in sixth, eighth, 10th and 12th grades around the state, contactingindividualfamilies is an expensive, time-con- Democratic state senators Thursday that a key factor in curbing smoking among young people will be learning why they Thefirst Utahn is being prosecuted under a newlawthat increases penalties for motorists causing serious injuries while driving drunk. as the addressee. Qo Not Invited to the Ball? Lobbyists for the credit unions in- the survey consultants telephone the families, PoVey said. However, because the latest tobacco the nation’s tobacco companies. Presumably, some of the moneywill be used for prevention programs. Attorney General Jan Graham told BY STEPHEN HUNT THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE legislator underneath and the legislator's name and address percent of the students need to be surveyed. Permission is usually granted when years undera settlement reached with Newlaw increases charge from misdemeanorto felony nameand address of that person's and address as the the return address But the law is doing just that to the State Division of Substance Abuse, he said. But for accurate data, at least 80 Faces Harsher Penalties and division heads of the massive Public Works Department, now under her command, to mingle with contributors te her campaign. Morethan 100 guests attended, including developers, highway engineer- State Office of Education. Today, only about 40 percent of students are bringing back permission slips, DUI Suspect ing a fund raiser to heip retire a $47,000 campaign loan to herself. Callaghan invited the department Callaghan’s employees, like the others whoattended, paid the $100-perperson contribution during the casual noon get-together at the New Yorker in downtown Salt Lake City. room,“it was neverintendedto block the And. . . Action: Film Fest Opens With Altman Flick BY BRENT ISRAELSEN ‘THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE BY SEAN P, MEANS ed with shrinking budgets, the U.S, Forest Servic is turning moreof its attention to foundations, special-interest groups, even corporations, for help in caring for the national forests. To honetheir skills in working with such out- ‘THESALT LAKE TRIBUNE Justas the first robin heralds the approach of spring, a familiar sound in the back rows of Abra- side groups, Forest Service officials from around vanel Hall announced Thursday night that the Sundance Film Festival was under way. A cell phone was ringing. Not that the 2,000 attending the the countryare in Salt Lake City for a “Partner. ship Conference Building Collaboration and Working With Support Organizations.” We're pushing [the idea of partnerships), Salt Lake City gala — stars, film- broadening it and catching up to the times. People want to be involved,” said Forest Service Chief Mike Dombeck, who addressed the gather- ing Thursday ‘The Forest S makers, industry executives, Utah dignitaries, international press and just plain movie lovers — really noticed. Such an intrusion is which manages about 200 million acres of land nationwide, does not have common at theevent that director all the skill, knowledgeandfinancial resources to do “all the work that is needed,” hesaid. Robert Altman called “America’s premier film festival.” For 10 ter develop skills that make us more effective wood dealmakers hit Park City to Forest supervisors and employees must “bet- more days, phone-addicted Holly conservationists, make our dollars last longer and result in more positive relationships with folks outside the agency,” Dombeck said. See FOREST SERVICE, Page C-8 Michael J, Millee/The Salt Lake Tribune Lyle Lovett, Patricia Neal and director Robert Altman address Abravanel Hall audience at world premiere of “Cookie’s Fortune”in Salt LakeCity, See SUNDANCE,Page C-7 {® More on Sundance MM |
