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Show Sat/Sun/Mon/Tues, November 14-17, 2020 A-7 The Park Record Man in chase threatened to kill former U.S. senator Authorities say he seemed intoxicated following arrest ALEXANDER CRAMER The Park Record A 36-year-old man was arrested after authorities spiked his vehicle’s tires while he was traveling around 135 mph just outside of Coalville early Wednesday. He told Utah Highway Patrol troopers he had taken LSD and was traveling to Missouri to kill former U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill, according to a probable cause statement. Highway Patrol Lt. Nick Street on Wednesday said state investigators continued to work to determine the seriousness of the threat against the former senator, and said he did not know whether the man was armed. The incident began just east of Kimball Junction around 12:45 a.m., when a parked trooper spotted the vehicle coming toward him eastbound traveling well above 100 mph, according to the statement. The Continued from A-1 Teams adapt screening before every practice, every event — but once we did it was just the new routine.” Sheetz said it helps that the athletes are so invested in keeping their seasons going. “I think the kids are probably even more adaptable and flexible than the coaches,” he said. “I don’t know that they like all of this any better than we do, but they’re willing to put in their best efforts to make it work. “No one wants to go back to where we were in March, April and May.” The PCHS volleyball team did have to quarantine for two weeks about halfway through its season, and that’s one area where Sheetz said the school would have done things differently. “If we had to do it over again, we probably would not let the freshman and JV teams hang around in the stands to watch the varsity team play,” he said. “You’ve got three levels of teams in the stands, we’re having to remind them to pull their masks up. If we could go back, having the younger players leave the gym after their games might have helped.” trooper’s radar indicated the vehicle was traveling at 115 mph and the vehicle appeared to accelerate away from the squad car after the trooper activated his lights. The pursuit reached 130 mph on slick roads with lightly falling snow, according to the statement. The driver, from Cottonwood Heights, overtook other vehicles on the road and showed what troopers called a wanton disregard for people and property. Troopers deployed tire spikes just after the Coalville exit, 14 miles east of where the chase began, and Street said the vehicle did not crash as it came to a stop. The man told troopers he was traveling 135 mph when he hit the spikes, according to the report. No information was available about what type of vehicle he was driving. Troopers reported the driver was belligerent and appeared to be intoxicated. He smelled of alcohol and reported that he had ingested Adderall, LSD and beer. Troopers found one empty 12-pack of beer in his vehicle and another that was partially consumed. They also found an unknown substance they believe to be LSD. The man was taken to the North Summit Fire District station to be evaluated by medical personnel, who cleared him to be taken to jail. He made repeated, adamant threats against McCaskill’s life on the way to the fire station and to the jail, saying he was on his way to Missouri to kill her if she wasn’t dead already, according to the statement. Street said the State Bureau of Investigations was examining whether the man has ties to extremist groups or a history of violence or weapons violations. “We obviously take the threat seriously and our State Bureau of Investigation is conducting a threat assessment,” Street said. He added that state officials were working with federal and state agency partners. “Is this individual, do they belong to any organization that wishes to do harm to elected leaders or try to overthrow our system of government? All of those things kind of build into the assessment,” Street said. “Is this just an empty threat or is this something that we need to engage in more legitimately, as law enforcement and the government?” The winter ahead While most of the fall sports are played outdoors, all of the winter sports will be inside, and one of the biggest concerns around COVID-19 heading into the winter has been more people congregating indoors. Sheetz said he and the coaches share that concern and will keep attendance to 25% of capacity or perhaps even lower. “I think in terms of mitigation, we might have only essential personnel for basketball games,” he said. Regardless, family and friends will still be able to watch the games. “We finally have our cameras installed, so people will be able to stream the basketball games and wrestling meets, for example,” he said. “That’s something we’d been wanting to do anyway, but COVID sort of fast-tracked that.” of our athletes suffering lasting effects from this virus 20 years down the road because we weren’t careful.” In fact, Sheetz said he can see leaning even further toward caution, as have some high school programs across the country, and even shutting down sports entirely. “I can justify not doing anything at all right now,” he said. “You could make that argument.” The reason, Sheetz said, is the upcoming holidays. He worries about a potential spike in cases and how the athletic department would deal with it. “It’s going to be a trying time for us, this stretch from Thanksgiving to early January,” he said. “We’re going to find out a lot. There is going to be a lot of exposure, a lot of people wanting to see their families. We’re just going to have to put as many layers of mitigation in place as possible and try to continue to get back to normal.” The bottom line is safety, Sheetz said, and that’s the message he and the coaches are trying to impress upon the student-athletes and the community at large. “We’re just trying to stress to these kids how important it is to take the virus seriously,” he said. “Keep those masks on. Don’t go to friends’ houses and hang out during this twoweek pause. “We can’t keep kicking this thing down the road. The longer we do, the longer it’s going to take to come out the other side.” ‘Err on the side of caution’ Sheetz said the high school has been proactive when it’s gotten cases and cautious about ensuring student-athletes quarantine when necessary. He acknowledged that some in the community have said they are being too conservative but he rejects that idea. “We have no idea what the long-term effects of this virus are,” he said. “We’ve only been studying this thing for what, 11 months? To not worry about kids getting it because (of the high survival rate) is just irresponsible. As an educator, I won’t do that. I don’t want to think about one The Park Record is always looking for new letters. Send in your letters to editor@parkrecord.com LIVE LUXURY Your best life begins with a home that inspires you. Count On Us - People Banking With People You can count on Grand Valley Bank as together we navigate through these challenging times. You can depend on our steady and locally grounded excellent service. KELLY ROGERS 435.640.7600 Global Real Estate Advisor Kelly@LuxuryParkCityRealEstate.com www.LuxuryParkCityRealEstate.com ©MMXVIII Sotheby’s International Realty Affiliates, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 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