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Show TRENDY SANDY — WORKING-CLASS HERO BIG BUZZ Clothing chain to set up shop-B-13 See the-Boss on a holiday C-1 Barnesis youngestposition player D-1 Che Salt Lakeribune ittp://www.sltrib.com Utah’s Independent Voice Since 1871 Volume 260 Number 42 ©2000, The Salt Lake Tribune SIMPLE GIFTS Universities Hail Donations, FRIDAY, MAY 26, 2000 Justice Clears SLOC in Bid Scandal Romneysaysit’s time to focus on staging the Games;critics sayit’s time for committee to open up For Any Reason BY LINDA FANTIN THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE BY KIRSTEN STEWART ‘THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE In early May, University of Utah President Bernie Machenreceived an envelope with a personal check for $350 tucked inside with a short note ofapology. Thenote’s author described having worked for the university nearly 20 years ago filling campus vending machines. “J did a poorjob, and in some” cases did not show upor skipped routes. . .whichI am sure, since the machines were not changed outas often as they should have been,caused loss ofrevenue.to the university.” In closing, the author asked for Machen’sforgiveness and acceptance ofa debtpaid. The moneywentinto a discretionary fund known as the President’s Special Opportunity Fund, said Tina Burton,director of annual giving in the university’s developmentoffice. It is not every day that a university receives donations to atone for past indiscretions. But small gifts from commonfolk with uncommonstories happen all the time, Burtonsaid. In fact, countless envelopes of money, mostfrom alumni, are received by the state’s Mae of higher education ann’ meagergifts Faraly receive the thanks they are due, fund-raising officials at colleges and universities say. Don Spainhower, WeberState University developmentdirector, 143 South MainStreet, Salt Lake City, Utah 64111 Telephone numbers listed on A-2 News that the U.S, Justice Departmentwill not prosecute the Salt Lake ‘ing Committee in connection with the Olympic-bid scandal broughtrelief to organizers here and abroad. Now,says SLOC boss Mitt Romney, SLOC and crew can focustheir attention and money onstaging the 2002 Winter Games instead of defer them. AndJustice, it would seem, can continueto builé'a case thatcasts the organization as the victim of deception on thepart of bid-era bosses and employees whoused cash andprizes to get the Games. “Clearly it lifts a cloud,” Romney said of the hoped-for letter from Peter Clark, deputy chief of the department’s fraudunit. “I had not expected [SLOC]to be indicted. But it’s one thing notto expect it,” he said, and anotherto receive a confirmation. Theletter said that based on evidence currently available, the Justice Department does not intend to indict SLOC.That would appear to clear the wayfor the release of sensitive documents SLOC has keptsecret, fearing their release would cause Justice to turn its wrath on the committee. But Romney asy said he would not disclose any documents until SLOC’s attorney gives the @ Web Links go-ahead. @ PastStories Clark wrote the letter May 12, but But, he agreed, it is not the equivalent of a Bet-out-ofjail-free card. Thecareful wordingof the letter leaves open the possibility that SLOC could be pursued for civil claims by other apparently waited 12 daysto fax it to fort were consistently different than what appeared on the SLOC’s Washington, D.C., attorney, Beth Wilkinson. Romney received a copy Thursday while en route to Rio De Janeiro,Brazil, for committee’s federal tax records. The committee also failed 1 Romneytalks to IOC’s executive committee government agencies,like the IRS. An investigation by The Salt Lake Tribune in January 1999 showed municipal records of donationsto the bid efto claim tuition payments to children of IOC members as “scholarships.” The prospect of putting an Olympic organizing com- a meeting ofthe International Olympic Committee. mittee ontrial had to cause heartburn for the IOC. Evenso, The SLOC presidentcalled it “a statementto the world” that the bid-city fiasco reflects “the failings of a few indi- viduals, not of our community or our committee.” See JUSTICE,Page A-9 State May Hang Up On Inmates A TURBULENT NIGHT Agenciesrethink contracts after inappropriate contacts BY GREG BURTON © 2000, THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE, Utah’s Travel Council and Departmentof Commerce may stop using inmate employees whoforthe past three years have answered thousands of calls from people unaware they were sharing private informa- tion with prisoners. In manycases, would-be visitors to the Beehive State gave their names and adto sex offenders at Utah State Prison recalls getting a $20 bill in the mail from a former student who had forgotten to pay a parking ticket. Nevermind thatthe fine had increased more than a hundredfold. “Tt had been bothering them all these years and they wanted to set it right,” he said. Butit is not just money that crosses developmentofficers’ desks, Thanks to a generous donor, Brigham Young University is hometo a white ermine coattailored to fit a Pekingese dog, an alligator cigarette case and jeweled cigarette holder — all personal effects from theestate of the late Norma Talmadge,oneofthe great movie stars of the silentfilm era: BYU film scholars, no doubt, find somevaluein these knickknacks. Butthe purpose behind someone’s donationof 8,000, 18-by-18inchslabs of Chinese marble is open to speculation. At Westminster College in Salt LakeCity, an individual harboring fond memories offun-filled college years agreed to donate $100 a year so long as it was reserved for studentfun, said Stephen R. Morgan,executive vice president andtreasurer. Morgan isn't exactly sure what kind offun the donor had in mind, but the Yancey Fun Fund was established nonetheless to accommodate the yearly donation, which comes every year withoutfail. “You always hear aboutthe big gifts, the million-dollar gifts. And people forget aboutthe person whogives one hundred dollars every year,” said Morgan. ne little bit helps, But more tly, annual donations are aseuresite bread and butter, providing a kind of stability that , irregular donations can't, said Morgan, Big or small, donations amount toa large portion — about20 percent — ofpublic and private schools’ annual budgets. Don't let it be said that universities never give anything back. One November, WSU officials shipped several crates oflive ducks, residents of the school’s in- B3 in Drapervia an 800 numberoperated by the es ei Utah Travel Council but staffed by inmates sitting at the prison’s call center. At other times, juveniles working on school projects chatted with prisoners answering calls for the Utah Department of Chiris Zaippa/The Salt Lake Tribune Commerce's Division of Corporations. Nei- E.V. Holland, a Salt Lake City maintenance worker, usesa pitchfork to unclog a sewage drain at the comerof 900 East and Harvard Avenuethat was overflowing with the water from Red Butte Creek during Thursday evening's rainstorm. ther the Commerce Department nor Travel Council requires inmates to identify them- Storm Brings Tornado,Floodsto S.L. Valley Twister causes minor damageto buildings andtrees in Holladay area; no injuries reported BY KEVIN CANTERA and GREG BURTON ‘THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE A swift-moving storm from the west shattered a calm sky over the Salt Lake Valley on Thursday evening, bringing hail, floods and the second tornadoto hit greater Salt Lake City within the last nine months. The relatively mild-mannered tornado — described by some as more ofa black “glob” than a twisting cloud — touched down at 6:21 p.m. near 1500 East and Murray-Holladay Road (4785 South). It was listed ac —the weakest class of twiste ut nevertheless packed winds up t i 1ph, blowing out the windows of at leas: eight cars and sucking out skylights at Cottonwood High School. The twister ripped offpartof 4712 8, Highland Drive, scattered tree INDEX Ann Landers Asimov/] Astrology Births B41 E-21 £-20 B46 Business B13 Classifieds Comics Movies Obituaries Puzzles £2 B10 Sports TV Programs 87 E19 limbs and garbage cans andleft some east bench neighbors with a stream of waste collected in their yards and aroundtheir homes. Cory Shaw of Murray was driving north on 900 East near 6400 South when he saw the tornado emerge over the school. “I was amazed bythe beauty,” he said. “Atone point,it looked like Jesus Christ praying. The slow-moving tornado — about 1520 mphatits vortex — dissipated three or four minutes later near the interseetion Highland Drive and Murray-Holladay Road, said Brian McInerney of the National WeatherService in Salt Lake City. fe had reports of shingles and tar paper ‘ifted off a roof as far away as 500 West and 5700 South,” McInerney said. “That gives you an idea of the trajectory of the storm, but it appears [the tornado] actually came down [at 1500 East).” Between 6:15 and 6:30 p.m., the caffeine-and-crumb-cakes crowd at the Cottonwood Starbucks were only mildly distracted by the high winds. “It didn’t seem like a tornado to me,” said employee Andrew Weeks. “The sky just got really darkoutside, it got purple and green. Our window shooka little bit. I heard a real loud clap of thunder and thenit started raining.” But next door, employees at Picasso’s whisked partygoers at an 11-year-old girl's birthday party into a back room while the storm blew past. “When I thoughtit was a tornado,I started freak_ing outalittle bit,” said Jaime Post. “And then Albertson'sgothit.” Managers at the grocery store, 1785 E. Murray-Holladay Road, refused to answer questions, but Salt Lake County Fitzgerald Petersen said the See STORM,Page A-5 selves. Asof today, the calls continue to pour into thecall center. While Commerce officials say they know of no instance where the information was misused,the directorof the Division of Corporations recently metwith prisonbrass after The Salt Lake Tribune reported a spate of inappropriate contacts between inmate telemarketers and women they have met through workoverthe phone. “These incidents are driving us to reevaluate our relationship,” said Commerce spokesman Kim Morris. “Weare giving inmatesinformation thatI guess someone can use and that does concern us.” State officials say there is pressure to disband the prison call center. Agencies that use prisoners may instead hire permanent state employees to answer the samecalls. They also may contract with a private company that operates its own call center. “Either of those options are more costly than what we are doing now,” said Spencer Kinard,assistantdirector ofthe Utah Travel Council. “But underthe current atmosphere of inmates having access to personal data, that is simply unacceptable to somepeople.” The Commerce Department's contract with the Utah Departmentof Corrections and Utah Correctional Industries (UCI), the department's inmate labor arm, is up for See CALL CENTER,Page A-6 Mother of Former SLOC Employee Seeks Answers in Her Son’s Tragic 1998 Death BY LINDA FANTIN riskit all for a fix? Why were no drug parapher- © 2000, THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE Carol Christiansen knows what her 39-yearold son Jim looked like the day he was found slumped on the floor of an abandoned Chevy Suburban. She knows because she has examined the 60 D1 B11 _ WEATHER:Early rain Why, she wonders, would an sonal wi now) the SaltLake Committee, two children and a baby on the way Rene he hen nalia found in the Suburban? Whydidn’t police dustfor fingerprints? And her biggest question of all: Why wasn't this treated as a homicide? Police say Jim's death was a sad but standard case ofdrug overdose. “He was not murdered. There was no assassination plot,” says Sgt. Jerry Mendez, who heads the Salt Lake City homicide unit that handled the case, “He just loaded up on more than his system could Police and Olympic authorities also deny the case is related to another controversy that overshadowed the tragedy. The Olympic bribery scandal erupted the SLOC ee ee, and, a year and a halflater, friends family still wonder if there was some connection between the two. See MOTHER,Page A-20 enaoe , at his 1991 wedding. C—-# | |
