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Show i ear sneeis 1521 E3900SSte 100 Salt Lake City UT 84124-1550 Election: Candidates, A7; Voting info, A8 | Sports: SFHS v ' %»/ • l f l l T I I I V,/ Guardian of Your Community News Wfil SERVING SPANISH FORK VOL. 4 / NO. 43 entmel SALEM • MAPLETON •WOODLAND HILLS • ELK RIDGE formerly Tloe Spanish Fork News WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2009 50* UDOT on 1-15 Jen Allen STAFF WRITER Christene Choate / The Sentinel YO HO, YO HO! Pictured above is a preview of what awaits visitors at the Haunted Pirates' Lair Haunted pirates coming to town Christene Choate STAFF W R I T E R Spanish Fork's Matt Champneys and his family have hosted a haunted spook alley for the past seven years for friends and neighbors. This year is the first year the Champneys are going public. This year's spook alley features the Haunted Pirates' Lair, loosely based off of Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean. The spook alley started in 2003, when Champneys' oldest daughter, Jessica, came to her dad insisting on a "spooky hall of fright." "She seemed determined to do it with or without me, so I decided I better help out," said Champneys. "We have done it every year since and it has become an important tradition for our family that helps keep us close. My oldest daughter is 16 now and she still loves to do it, and the younger kids love to participate too." The very first spook alley consisted of "a black light, a few pumpkins, a dummy made of stuffed clothes and Jessica dressed up as a witch," said Champneys. Since then the spook alley has grown and now features lighting effects, fog, animatronics, actors in costumes and a powerful sound system that plays music and sound effects. The spook alley is a family event, with every member of the Champneys family contributing. Jessica adds her acting skills; Kayli, age 13, paints the scenery and other props; Mattilyn, age 11, helps with the setting up of the props; and parents Sheri and Matt help with the more complex engineering of the Haunted Pirates' Lair. The Champneys spook alley usually receives about 200-300 visitors. "This is the first year we have actually tried to promote it outside of our neighborhood, so we are hoping to get more visitors," said Champneys. "We love doing it and the more people who can come and enjoy it, the better." There is no cost to go through the spook alley, and anyone from younger children to adults can go through. "[This] is a family effort, so it is really designed for families. Ours is not too scary for most children, but can still be appreciated by adults," said Champneys. The Haunted Pirates' Lair is located at 1641 South Oakview Lane, Spanish Fork, and will be open for visitors Oct. 30-31 6:30-8:30 p.m. For more information, visit www. hauntedpirateslair.com. In Spanish Fork on Oct. 31, the Chamber of Commerce will hoA their annual Main Street Trick or Treat from 1-3 p.m. In addition to trick or treating, there will be games and activities for the kids. The chamber will also announce scarecrow contest winners that afternoon at 2 p.m. at Memorial Square, 200 North Main Street In Salem on Oct. 31 the second annual Trick or-Treat in the Park will be held at 3:30 p.m. at the old city ballpark, 60 North 100 East, Salem. This event will be similar to the Main Street •Trick of Treat in Spanish Fork. Businesses in and around Salem will be on hand, as well as the Salem Youth Council. -f Barry Dalton / The Sentinel GOING THE EXTRA MILE: Mark Shurtleff shows his first baseball glove, signed by his hero, Ted Williams. Shurtleff addresses chamber, city officials Namon Bills EDITOR Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff spoke at the Spanish Fork Justice Center to chamber members and city officials from Spanish Fork and Salem Monday, Oct. 26. Shurtleff based his remarks around his hero, Ted Williams, whose single-season batting average record of ,406, set in 1941, still stands today. Shurtleff explained that Williams had a .400 batting average heading into the final two games of the season, a double-header. He was encouraged not to play in order to preserve his .400 average, but he replied, "It doesn't count unless I play every game." Shurtleff recounted that Williams went on to hit six of 11 that day and achieve his record-setting average. For Shurtleff the number .406 represents going above and beyond the call of duty. "We always try to do a .406 — find better ways to help people," he said. He cited various accomplishments over his eight-plus year tenure as attorney general as examples of "doing a .406." These include instituting the Amber alert, fighting mortgage fraud, combatting identity theft, decreasing internet crimes against children and fighting underage drinking. About the Amber alert, Shurtleff said once Utah became famous for the Amber alert in the Elizabeth Smart ,case, other states began following suit. But instead of resting on their laurels, Utah sought to improve their own system by adding highway signs. The latest improvement is that people can sign up for Amber alerts on their cell phones or PDAs. This innovation has become part of a national system. In the area of mortgage fraud, Shurtleff was alarmed that Utah consistently ranked among the top states in the nation in mortgage fraud. By working with the legislature and going after companies perpetrating fraud, this past year Utah dropped off the top 10 list for mortgage fraud. Regarding identity theft, Shurtleff explained that the state has set up a website, idtheft .Utah .gov, where victims of identity theft can go to file complaints to law enforcement. They can also learn about restoring their credit. Shurtleff said the Identity Theft Reporting and Info System (IRIS) can also help educate the public about new scams and threats. "Using the information on this website, you can really protect yourself," he said. One of Shurtleff's top priorities as attorney general has been cracking down on internet crimes against children. He reported that there has been a 40 percent increase in Utah in arrests against child pornographers. He thanked a Utah-based national organization called Operation Kids for their $250,000 donation to this task force. Shurtleff emphasized that the fight is ongoing. "We still have way too many kids who are being victimized," he said. Shurtleff also spoke about another website, parentsempowered.org, which gives parents tools to combat underage drinking. He explained that children cite parents as the most important influence in the decision to drink or not. The website also includes interactive games that children can play with their parents; these games teach about the effects of alcohol abuse, and are part of the fourth-grade statewide curriculum, Shurtleff said. The meeting concluded with a question-and-answer session that focused mainly on Shurtleff's run for U.S. Senate, challenging fellow Republican Bob Bennett in the primaries. Shurtleff explained his fiscally conservative views, saying the first thing he would fight for is a Constitutional amendment to balance the federal budget. He also said that health care reform needs to strike a balance between free market principles and government regulation. "We have to let the free market work ... but we have to put reasonable limits in place," he said. Chamber Board Member Susan Taylor thanked Shurtleff for his time and remarks, and presented him with a framed photo of the windmills at sunset from Photo Guru Eric Melander. The second discussion on the I-15/North Main/ Highway 6 interchange was held on Thursday, Oct. 22. At this meeting, city officials, state officials and several business men and women attended the meeting where UDOT officials presented on the 1-15 Core Project. Project Manager Dal Hawks was introduced by Representative Mike Morley. Hawks talked at length about the project format and history. He explained that early in 2007 the legislature has planned to spend around 2.6 billion dollars for the project to range from American Fork down to the Spanish Fork Main Street exit. As time progressed and the economy took a dive, the state changed that number to around 1.7 billion. This cut meant that the emphasis would be focused more on the region from American Fork south to Provo Center Street. In planning the project, three companies were selected to compete for bids. The teams are to design their projects and place their bids. The winning team selected for the project will be announced around Dec. 10, 2009. As soon as the team is announced, Spanish Fork will know if they've been included in the project. The teams will be selected based on several factors including how far they can stretch the dollars See 1-15 • A6 Water main breaks Namon Bills EDITOR A Spanish Fork water main broke Thursday, Oct. 22 near the intersection of Hwy 89 and Hwy 6, as a result of a construction project. The break affected water pressure and availability in some parts of the city. City crews had repairs in place by Friday afternoon. Immediately following the break, crews routed two wells to the culinary water system to help stabilize water pressure. Assistant City Manager Seth Perrins said few residents noticed any change in water pressure, and the most affected neighborhoods were only without water for about an hour. Perrins said the city used its new reverse 911 system to alert residents to the situation. They also provided ongoing updates through Twitter and on the city website. |