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Show Wednesday, August 15, 2007 A3 Sanpete Messenger/Gunnison Valley Edition Snow employee gets jail term, must pay $315,000 restitution By John Hales Staff writer MANTI—Vickie Murray, a former Snow College cashier, will spend one year in jail and pay over $300,000 for perpetrating an embezzlement scheme over a period of 10 years at the college. On Wednesday, Aug. 8, 6th District Court Judge David L. Mower followed a presentence-investigation (PSI) report to the letter in sentencVickie Murray ing Murray on eight counts of communications fraud, a second-degree felony. Murray pleaded guilty to the offenses on May 30 as part of a plea bargain that reduced the number of counts in the original indictment from 23 down to eight. Mower sentenced Murray to 1-15 years in prison for each count, but then suspended prison time in favor of one year in the Sanpete County Jail, where she reported on Saturday, Aug. 11 to begin serving her time. Murray must also pay $300,000 in restitution to the college, plus $15,000 in recovery costs—the expense paid by the college to uncover and investigate the scheme. She will be on supervised probation for 36 months following her jail term. According to observers at the sentencing hearing, Murray gave a tearful apology to the court and the college for the damage she had done. Murray’s sentence, as based on the PSI, was a compromise between the recommendations of prosecuting and defending attorneys, said Sanpete County Attorney Ross Blackham, who prosecuted the last spring to confess to the the student account but would pocket some of the cash hercrime. case. self. She then would never bill “What she told me was that “My recommendation was the third party for the amount she was tired of looking over that the judge could justify a actually still owing. her shoulder; she was tired of prison sentence, and that was At first, said fine with me and the Arnoldson, thirdstate,” Blackham party billing was said, “but under no We trusted the court to weight those two such a small piece circumstances could important issues and come up with a fair of the pie, and the she go lower than the amounts being PSI recommenda- resolution. I think they did a good job. ilched were so tions. There should be jail time, but should be fsmall, that super“I would have some consideration for her cooperation. visors didn’t nobeen fine if the judge tice. Add to that, would have sent her I think they did a good job of balancing he said, the fact to prison, but a year the two. It’s a very difficult decision.” that Murray mainin jail is not an insigtained third-party —Snow Vice President Rick Wheeler, nificant sentence, escommenting on the sentence. accounts from the pecially for someone beginning, overof her age.” s a w t h e m as they became feeling guilty,” Wheeler said. Murray’s legal defender, more widely used over the last All versions of the story are Douglas Neeley, was unavailfew years, and was “implicitly that Murray came clean as a able for comment, but trusted” by her overseers. matter of conscience, but the Blackham indicated the But eventually, he said, timing of her confession also defense’s request for sentencing “the amount that was owed by coincided with questions that was straight probation, no jail. the third parties was growing. were being raised about certain Snow Vice President Rick Wheeler attended the sentenc- discrepancies in certain ac- That’s more or less how we started to find out that there ing hearing on behalf of the col- counts she managed. was a problem.” “Part of the mix was that lege and said he felt the senAnother thing that conthey were doing an audit, and I tence was fair, though there was tributed to the discovery of inthink every time they did an ausome ambivalence about that. c o n s i s t e ncies was the dit she was terrified,” Wheeler “In the victim reparation switchover to new accounting said. statement we were asked to fill Yet, when it came right software that made the probit out, I said there were two key down to finding what she had lem more transparent. issues for us,” Wheeler said. College officials said the done, auditors had a difficult “One, this is a serious crime full amount of the embezzletime identifying it until Murray with public money and the bement might never be known herself showed them. trayal of public trust, and it because of limitations on the “Our auditors were must be adjudicated aggresavailability of bank and colstumped on how she was able sively and completely; two, lege financial records, and the to do that. She had to show Vickie had been a longtime vala b i l i t y t o c o mpare those them,” said Gary Arnoldson, ued employee, a friend, and had records with each other. But Snow’s interim chief financial cooperated at the highest posfor every incident that can be officer, who explained the prosible level. verified, the lost amount of cess Murray went through. “We trusted the court to m o n e y c a n b e r e c o v e r e d Arnoldson said the way weight those two important isthrough insurance, as Murray she did it and was able to keep sues and come up with a fair resolution. I think they did a it covered for so long was that was a bonded employee. Murray has paid back good job. There should be jail she was over the third-party $5,000 so far. billing process, which allows time, but should be some conAccording to Wheeler the the system to give a student sideration for her cooperation. $300,000 restitution amount credit on their account just as I think they did a good job of was arrived at through discusif they had paid directly. The balancing the two. It’s a very sions and agreement between bill goes to the third party, difficult decision.” That cooperation began, who then sends the college a Murray, college accountants and auditors from the Utah according to college officials check. State Board of Regents. When checks would come and Blackham, when Murray in, Murray would fully credit came forward of her own accord “ ” Fourth of July auction funds handed out By Karen Prisbrey Staff writer GUNNISON—Funds raised at the annual Fourth of July Celebration Auction in Gunnison were presented at an awards ceremony on Monday, Aug. 13 to organizations that made requests for support. Representatives met at the Gunnison Market at noon on Monday, where Gunnison Lions Club President Marshall Sorenson made presentations to the Gunnison Civic Library, the new Fayette Community Center, the Axtell Heritage Park, and to the soldiers of the Utah National Guard 145th Field Artillery Unit. Carolyn Childs, librarian at the Gunnison Civic Library, and Jerolyn Young, city council member over the library, accepted the donation in behalf of the library. Childs stated that the funds would go toward a matching grant for new computers. Scott Bartholomew, mayor of Fayette, accepted the donation earmarked for the new Fayette Community Center. Bartholomew said, “Noticeable work is moving forward with the construction of the outside walls KAREN PRISBREY / MESSENGER PHOTO Gunnison Lion’s President Marshall Sorenson (center) presents donation checks to worthy recipients of this year’s Fourth of July Auction. (L-R) Scott Bartholomew, Jennifer Broderick, Jerolyn Young, Marshall Sorenson, Claudia Neilson, and Carolyn Childs. nearly complete.” Receiving the donation on behalf of the Axtell Heritage Park was Claudia Nielson. Nielson and a committee made up of Sharon Rugg, Beth Shinsel, Steve Burr, Valene King, Angie Erickson, Darrell Millett, Matt Reber, Kaye Despain, Debbie Fagan, and Cindy LaCrew, have been working for several years to establish an identity with the U.S. Postal service for the town of Axtell. The establishment of a new post office building and a small heritage park at the same location has helped that happen. Members of the 1st Battalion, 145th Field Artillery Unit of the Utah National Guard based in Manti and currently in Fort Bliss, Texas in preparation of being deployed to Iraq are also recipients of a donation. Accept- ing on behalf of the unit was Jennifer Broderick, wife of Vernon Broderick. These funds will be used to mail monthly care packages to the soldiers while they are serving in Iraq. The Gunnison Lions Club and the recipients of these donations appreciate the support the community showed at this year’s auction. LOCALIZE THE WORLD WIDE WEB DELIVER YELLOW BOOK Directories in Manti, Ephraim and Mt. Pleasant Call 801-375-3385 For more information BannerAd Network Are you advertising in markets that are doing you no good? Contact your local newspaper to find out how you can advertise on the world wide web and reach the local communities that your business needs. 8/15MG 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012 Mechanical Size of a BannerAd 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012 (468 pixels by 60 pixels) 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012 Sanpete County SATURDAY, AUG. 18 CUFA calls for short film entries The Central Utah Filmmakers Association and the Mt. Pleasant Lions Club are seeking entries for the Central Utah Film Festival on Sept. 7-8. Entry deadline is Aug. 18. Sponsors are also needed. For more information, visit www.utahfilmmakers.org. THURSDAY, AUG. 16 TO SATURDAY, AUG. 25 County fair in full swing The next 10 days are filled with Sanpete County Fair events. See your copy of the Sanpete County Fair Guide and the ad in this week’s paper on Page A6. RECURRING EVENTS TOPS chapter meets Sanpete County has a TOPS (Take Off Pounds Sensibly) chapter that meets at the Mt. Pleasant Senior Center every Thursday from 4:15-6 p.m. The chapter has over 50 members from Gunnison to Fairview, who cumulatively lost 326 pounds in 2006. For more information on chapters throughout the United States, call 1-800-932-8677. Exhibits ongoing at Springville Museum The 34th Annual Quilt Show, an unforgettable display of color, pattern and skill, will be showcased through Sept. 2 at the Springville Museum of Art. Also running through December is “Impressions of Utah: Selections from the Stewart Collection,” which includes works by notable Utah artists LeConte Stewart, Lee Greene Richards and Waldo Midgley. Museum hours are Tuesday, Thursday through Saturday 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Wednesday 10 a.m.-9 p.m., and Sunday 3-6 p.m. The museum is closed Mondays and holidays. Events are free and open to the public. Achievement (Continued from A2) as a Woman of Achievement. She has done a lot of babysitting for working mothers, becoming almost a second mother to those she has watched over, and for whom she continues to be a positive influence. She is a master seamstress, sewing clothes for her family— everything from underwear to a prom formal—and others outside of her family. She has volunteered her tailoring expertise in service to the Nauvoo Pageant of The Church Fires (Continued from A1) ments. • Mayfield saw two fires near its borders, one about a quarter-mile away from the city cemetery that had been extinguished by rain when Gunnison Valley fire crews arrived, and another south of town that residents put out. • Three fires started in Mellor Canyon near Fayette. Several fire departments, including federal firefighters on two engines from the BLM, responded to those. Peterson said firefighters were still keeping an eye on the three Mellor Canyon fires on Tuesday, though he said early in the day those fires didn’t seem to pose any real threat. Weather reports called for continued afternoon thunderstorms throughout the week, putting Peterson on a slightly elevated guard. “I’ll be out in the direction where we have lightning, and then I can use the fed engines [if needed]. Pretty much everything’s normal until something pops up.” Peterson said fire danger in the area is still high and explained that recent moisture, even though of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She is an accomplished cook and cake decorator. Many brides, not just her own daughters, have had her cakes adorn their wedding receptions and have received her recipe books as wedding gifts. She is an artist as well, having done over 30 oil paintings. Anderson currently works as a teacher’s aide at Fairview Elementary School, where she still uses her talents and skills to benefit children. She has 11 grandchildren. it has helped, shouldn’t make people complacent when it comes to fire risk. “We get a little bit of rain, and sure it greens up the grass, but as far as getting the fuels to reduce, it takes a lot of moisture [to make a difference],” he said. Meanwhile, Gunnison police and fire officials looked suspiciously at a house and yard fire that occurred early Monday afternoon. At about 1 p.m., according to Gunnison Police Chief Blane Jensen, crews responded to a report of a fire on a vacant lot at approximately 240 East 200 South. Jensen said the house was not extensively damaged by the fire, but the cause appeared to be arson. “There was a small pile of debris inside the abandoned home that had obviously been started on fire,” Jensen said. “It appeared that whoever started the fire tried to put it out. It looks to us like they took some of the pile outside to try and stomp on it. That started the grass on fire. At that point they took off.” Jensen indicated that even though the fire was intentionally set, and therefore technically arson, it did not appear to be malicious. “This is probably young kids,” he said. Got Talent? Share your talent at the annual Annual Farm Bureau Talent Find! Wednesday, Aug. 22 Manti High School - 7 p.m. We are looking for people between the ages of 0 and 30 to share their talents! 4 Age Categories: Cash Prizes To register, or for more information, contact Carlee Christensen 436-9024 Register no later than Aug. 17 Registration and admission is free. 8/8,15MG |
