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Show TheSalt LakeTribune UT ETO, FRuBAY @ STATE OF THE STATE, B-3 ll BIRTHS, B-5 ill OBITUARIES,B-& ROLLY & WELLS S.L. County Grappling With Growth Murraylooking to grow north, east PAUL ROLLYand JOANN JACOBSEN-WELLS © 1999,TheSaitLake There Are Your Signs, And There Are Our Signs It was reported in the Utah media Thursdaythat the Davis School District’s attorney, Michelle Beus, re- ceived a demand from the Utah Department of Transportation that advertising signs on the baseball fence at Woods Cross High School be removed. Why? Theycan be seen from I-15 and therefore violate the Utah Out- door Advertising Act and the federal Highway Beautification Act. Here is the rest of the story. UDOT had received a complaint about the signs on WoodsCross’ baseball fence, but would not reveal who JANUARY29, 1999 BY JON URE ‘THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE Bill making S.L. County all cities facing long odds A Bigger Murray? Murrayis examining three possible annexations — north to 3900 South, east to 1300 East and eastto Highland Drive. The pushto incorporate all of Salt Lake County h runintobarriers. a raay | BY PHILMILLER THE SALT LAK! MURRAY — Bigger might not TRIBUNE i be inevitable, especially if a wallto-wall cities bill wins legislative ton, decidedto try to break the logjamthis year by sponsoring a bill that would help cities accomplishit. approval. \ \ st ) South Salt Lake | ", Hotiadey| Mount Olympus Cottonw \ little progress, so Sen. R. Mont Evans, R-River- TheCity Council has authorized $15,000 to study possible annexation of two unincorporated areas fnivatog | Canyon SaltLake City Theideaof creating wall-to-wall cities in Salt Lake County has been debated for years with be better for Murray,but it might Butit looks like the result of his bill mayjust be more debate. between 3900 South and Interstate 215. The first would extend Murray’s eastern boundary — now at 900 East — to 1300 East, and the second wouldstretchit to Highland Drive. Another potential annexation parcel would take Murray farther north, to 3900 South. Darcey Dixon Pignanelli, chief of staff for Mayor Dan Snarr, said the latter region — known as Millcreek — will not be part of the feasibility study but remains a possibility for annexation. An earlier attemptto join that area to Murray failed when petitions lacked the minimum percentage of property owners. That’s something a proposal by Wall-to-Wall Cities on Hold Steve Baker /Th alt Lake Tribune, Sen. R. Mont Evans, R-Riverton, could remedy. Under current state law, annexations can take place only when residents and property ownerspetition to do so. But Evans’ wall-to-wall-cities bill would give municipalities — with See MURRAY,Page B-4 auld aleeo iv That’s OK with Evans, though. After a meeting Thursday with three dozen legislators, county commissioners and other interested parties, Evansasserted that just raising the issue is a step forward. “I want to make sure that people recognize the problem we're trying to address. That’s the purposeof filing the bill,” Evans said. “It’s pos- Herriman Southwest part’. /SALT LAKE COUNTY ker /'TheSalt Lake ‘irl itive to move this forward, even if there’s a greater likelihoodit will fail this year.” The urgency to carve up unincorporated areas has increased recently because commercial areas such as Union andTaylorsville have been gobbled upby annexations and incorporations, leaving the remaining unincorporated residents to face increasingly highertax bills for services such as garbage collection and snow removal. Evans’ bill would allow cities in Salt Lake county, to annex areas by themselves. Current ly, annexations can occur only when residents petition cities to do so. Salt Lake County Commission Chairwoman Mary Callaghan has made theissue a toppriority of the county's Council of Governments, a group of mayors and commissioners, which she also heads. See BILL, Page B-4 County, once they reach agreement with the filed the complaint. When Beus wrote to UDOT,re- Man Outon Bail questing an exemption, UDOT for- warded letters from both the U.S. Departmentof Transportation and the Utah Attorney General’s Office stating no exemption is allowed. Furthermore, violating the Highway Beautification Act could jeopardize federal highway funding to Utah. But guess who gets an exemption? Allegedly Rapes Ex-Girlfriend UDOT. Thesigns near freewayexits telling motorists whatservices are available at the next exit, with logos of the business providing those services, are revenue generators for UDOT. A UDOT official says that is not an exemption, but a provision in the federal guidelines to let motorists know Charges say ex-con threatened to kill herfor‘talking in court’ whatservices are available. Business- BY STEPHEN HUNT ‘THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE A woman whotestified against a former boy- @s pay a royalty to have their logo displayed, and thatnets the state about about $50,000 a year. Woods Cross baseball coach Todd friend for stealing her VCR wasallegedly raped Ballif says the baseball field signs this year raised about $1,500, with every penny going to the baseball program. It now may haveto be refunded. severaldayslater. Mark Anthony Evansgot out of the Salt Lake County Jail on Jan. 16 after 3rd District Judge the vengeful man when he wasreleased fromjail Robert Hilder reduced his bail from $25,000to Qo $10,000 — despite objections from the prosec ute Twodays later, Evans went to the woman's Sa Whatever Works Lake City homeandthreatenedto stab herto death Ballif, an American eyteacher at Woods Cross, just can’t wi Because Utah's funding forschool books and supplies is so wanting, Bal- the current assignment. witha pair of kitchen knivesfor “talking in court,” according to charging documents. “T'll give you something to testify to in court,” Evansallegedly said as he tied her hands and feet to a bed, then raped and sexually assaulted her He left with the woman's wallet and car, but was arrested after a chase with police the next day whenhetried to use the woman's ATM card, charging documentsstate. on the total grade scale and students can earn extra credit other ways. So his plan is not putting less affluent students at an unfair disadvantage. “T feel really horrible for the victim, for what she went through,” said prosecutor Robert Stott. rom the beginning, Stott had argued against any reduction, pointing out to the judgethat Eveans hi d been released from prison just two monthsbefore. lif offered his students 50 extra cred- it points if they would buy the paper- back version of All Quiet on the Western Front and donateit to the school when they are finished with Evans’ bail is now a hefty $500,000. ‘That generated some complaints. Ballif says 50 points is just a blip And the few supplemental readers Stott also mentioned that the womanwasafraid of Evans. But defense attorney Scott Williams said the al leged attack was “unforeseeable” because Evans — whoseprison termwasfor theft — has no prior the school possesses are in bad shape. o Bureaucracy Bites Star Attraction The Navajo Police tracking teams, which recently renewedtheir search for two fugitives who are accused of killing a San Juan County deputy, have been hindered by more than heavy snows. They couldn't get a decent meal Whenthe teams were camped be- tween the Hatch Trading Post and Hovenweap National Monument, one commander askedhis dispatcher in Shiprock, N.M., “Whereis the food weordered?” Pupils at Dilworth Elementary in Salt Lake City are all eyes as they examine a starfish Thursday. It and other creatures from the newly launched Living Planet Aquavan are educating kids about oceans. initiated the purchaseordertoolate tures, A manager at City Market in Shiprock refused to provide the ordered food until he saw signed purchase order from the Navajo Nation and a promise of prompt payment Finally, the searchers took desper: ate measures, They went to a convenience store in Montezuma Creek and bought several loaves of bread and luncheon meat on their own o Junk Mail Fallout Greg Sanders, a Democratic candidate for the Utah Senatein Davis County, lost the election last Novem ber. But several news agencies mistakenly reported he won, ‘That was cleared up the following day, but Sanders still is on the mailinglists of several lobbyists. He recently was invited to a February convention in Las Vegas by the Western Petroleum Retail Marketing Association. Hehas not had the heart totell them he cannotvote for their causes, \ Evans nowfacesfelony charges that could land See EX-CON, PageB-4 State Health Officials Say 16,000 Teens Join in Pledge to Avoid Gun Violence Bacteria Strains Found in Beaver Wells Are Harmless Officers at 12 high schools gatheredthe signatures BY KATHERINE KAPOS. an Sc LAea CRITE r Apparently, the Navajo Police had in the dayto get the proper signa- record of violence. BY JIM WOOLF ‘THESALT LAKE TRIBUNE Water problems reported in some 20 drinkingwater wells in the MilfordFlats area of Beaver Coun- ty may not be evidence of a widespread pollution problem A preliminaryreport issued this week by the Utah Department of Health's Bureauof Microbiology said the types of bacteria iden- tified in the well water are CLICK HERE found in most drinking. water systems and do not cause disease. “We see NO DATAto support the hypothesis that the ground water is contaminated,"’ concluded the report Based on the types of bacteria identified in the water, state research aid the “mostlogical expla. nation" for their presence is “normal biofilm forma tion” on theinside of pipes Bacteria living in theseslippery films of organic material sometimes slough off into the water and givefalse readings in tests looking for contamination by potentially dangerous bacteria in human waste. Only detailed follow-up testing, such as is being done now, can determine the origins of the bacteria A sudden peak in bacteria levels in Sal Lake See BACTERIA,Page B-5 i c From Clearfield High School to Enterprise High in Garfield Coun: ty, some 16,000 students have pledged to never bring a gun to school, to never usea gunto settle a dispute and to use their influence with friends to keep themfromus: ing guns. The Utah Association of Student Councils will present thesignatures to Gov, Mike Leavitt next week. Ben Hart, association president andpresident at Woods Cross High School, said Thursday that officers at 12 Utah high schools have gath ered pledges as part of a national “Student Pledge Against Gun Vio: lence" campaign Last year the U.S. Senate passed resolution 282, sponsored by Sen, Bill Bradley, D-New Jersey, which challenged teens to make the pledge ‘The bill had supporters from across thepolitical spectrum, all of whombelieved that if millions of teen-agers were to make the same promise at the same time, they would be empoweredto reverse the ravages of gun violence, Even in Utah there is a probJem,” said Hart, who remembersin ninth grade a student coming to school with a knife andslashing a fellow student School isn’t always the sanctuary, the safe haven wethink it is, hesaid With about 115,000students en rolled in high schools statewide, the 16,000 names on the petition may seeminsignificant, But students be lieve their efforts are important Statistics from the State Office of Education report 581 incidents in- volving weapons not just guns — in elementary and secondary two-thirds of Utah homes, a teen: Steve Griffin The Salt LakeTribe Woods Cross High Schoolstu: dent Ben Hart showspledgesto avoid unsafe useoffirearms. find one. While crime in general is down Brigham Lundberg, Taylorsville High student body president. are committing violent offenses — and more are becoming victims, In 1998, 13 Utah teen-agers and nine child were homicidevictims. Just asking teen-agers to sign a pledge at least gets themthinking about the consequences, said tion [to guns] and made students think about it,” said Lundberg. The effort also may have meaning whenpeers are doing the asking “It makes a lot more impact,’ schools for the 1997-98 school year is up from 507 the previous With at least one gun in nearly ager who wants a gun can usually across the nation, moreteen-agers “It's really broughtalot of atten See PLEDGE, Paye B-4 |
