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Show News from the front 75¢ A4 Gunnison Valley Edition www.sanpetemessenger.com VOL. 86 • NUMBER 43 MANTI, UTAH • THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2007 SANPETE WEA THER EATHER FORECAST High/Low % precip. Thursday Clear, 61/31 ................ 0% Thursday Razor thin margin for courts bond Rain, 58/30 ................. 5% Friday Rain, 54/29 ............... 20% Saturday Snow, 50/15 ............. 30% 6-vote margin makes bond result too close to call until canvass Last Week’s Weather (Courtesy Ted Olson, Snow College) Date Max. Oct. 30 67 Oct. 31 63 Nov. 1 64 Nov. 2 59 Nov. 3 65 Nov. 4 63 Nov. 5 62 Min. Prec. 46 .01” 34 27 25 22 26 30 By John Hales Managing editor MANTI—Though the vote on the revenue bond for a new state courts building was still too close to call, it was passing by six votes AT A GLANCE after Election Day, thanks in large part to Gunnison voters. Gunnison showed more support for the bond than anywhere else in the county, going for the proposition by a margin of 56 percent to 44 percent. The bond measure, along with Referendum 1 on the school-voucher issue, appar(See “Bond” on A3) Snow plans inauguration events By Kirsten Reimschiissel SNOW COLLEGE—The week of the Presidential Inauguration is full of events spotlighting President Scott L. Wyatt and the Snow College students and staff. Thursday: • Inaugural Convocation: 12:30 p.m. in the Eccles Center. • Student Showcase: 5:30 p.m. in the Greenwood Student Center. • Celebratory Concert: 7:30 p.m. in the Eccles Center. Friday: • President Wyatt’s Inauguration Ceremony: 2 p.m. in the Eccles Center. • Men’s basketball game: Snow vs. Western Wyoming at 7:30 p.m. in the Horne Activity Center. Saturday: • Football game: Snow vs. New Mexico Military at noon. You said It! “I had a speech prepared for if we won by a landslide, or if we lost by a landslide, but I don’t know now ... the vote obviously confirms the importance of the court facility on both sides of the issue.” ED WALLACE / MESSENGER PHOTO New Mayfield mayor John Christensen and his wife Julie are all smiles after learning of his election win Tuesday. Most election results known following good voter turnout By Suzanne Dean Publisher MANTI—Odd-year elections are supposed to be about local government, a fact that seemed to get lost amid the con- tentious court bond and school voucher propositions. But Sanpete County did elect about 30 people to municipal offices Tuesday. And in contrast to the propositions, the races were routine with not much controversy Candidates and residents of Fayette and Wales will have to wait a while before knowing who was elected to the two town-council seats in each town. The final canvass of the election is scheduled for Nov. 20, and that will be when results regarding write-in candidates are known. The new voting machines do not separate the votes for different write-in candidates, but simply group them all together in a “write-in” category. The actual count by name for write-in candidates is conducted by a hand count of the paper ballots recorded by the machines. In Fayette, there were two named candidates. One of those, Kimberly Mellor, surely won. But 47 percent of Fayette’s votes went to two other write-in candidates. Math says that one of those write-ins won, though who it is won’t be known until votes are counted by name. In Wales, no names appeared on the ballot, but there were four write-in candidates for two seats. By John Hales Managing editor GUNNISON—After nearly a month in the hospital, mostly in an intensive-care unit, Gunnison Mayor Scott Hermansen is now recuperating at home. Hermansen returned to Gunnison Friday, Nov. 2 following several surgeries at LDS Hospital to treat Wegener’s Granulo- INSIDE SEAN HALES / MESSENGER PHOTO Wolverine oil rig being assembled near Mayfield, first in Sanpete County. Will Sanpete strike it lucky near Mayfield? By John Hales Managing editor Utah Press Association General Excellence winner 1999 - 2001 - 2002 - 2003 - 2004 - 2005 (See “Election” on A2) Gunnison mayor returns home —Sanpete Commissioner Claudia Jarrett Lifestyle ......... A5 Business ........ A7 School ........... A9 Sports .......... A10 Classifieds ... A11 Directory ...... A12 and no exceptionally close outcomes. In Ephraim and Manti, large cities that had full slates, there seemed to be a slight trend against incumbents. Notably, results in Fayette and Wales aren’t out yet. Initially, two council seats in each of the communities were uncontested. Then competitors registered as write-in candidates for all of the seats. But their names didn’t appear on ballots. Because voting machines can’t tabulate write-ins, the writeins weren’t counted election night. Those votes will be added into voting machine totals when the official canvass is released Nov. 20. In the only contested mayoral race in the county, John Christensen, a probation officer and son of long-time Mt. Pleasant MAYFIELD—The same oil company that discovered oil in Sevier County, and that now has 10 producing wells there and plans for 10 more, is now making its first foray into Sanpete. Last week, a representative of Wolverine Gas and Oil Co., which operates what is known as the Covenant Field near Sigurd, said a drilling rig was being assembled at a site near Mayfield. “We expect to start actually drilling next week sometime,” Wolverine landman Paul Spiering said in an interview last Thursday. Despite the oil hubbub in Central Utah over the last few years, Wolverine is the only company to have been success(See “Oil” on A2) matosis, a disease that damages important organs of the body by limiting blood flow to those organs and destroying normal tissue. In Hermansen’s case, the disease was attacking the lungs. During the course Scott of surgery last month to Hermansen repair damage the disease did to Hermasen’s trachea, his condition deteriorated and doctors induced a coma, which lasted for a few days. Now that he is out of the hospital, “We’re hoping for a speedy recovery,” said his wife, Mallory. “We’re slowly taking it day by day. He gets a little better every day. (See “Mayor” on A2) Centerfield community living center now under construction By Karen Prisbrey Staff writer CENTERFIELD—Construction is underway for the new community living center at 10-20 West 400 South in Centerfield. Center administrator Cindy Peterson and husband Bill of Mayfield have been running the Mayfield Community Care Center since 1994 and are now moving the business to Centerfield. The Mayfield building, previously the Mayfield Elementary School and Mayfield Manor, was constructed in 1923 and had a working area of 10,000 square feet. It has undergone many repairs and changes during the last 13 years. “It is impossible to continue meeting government standards in this old building,” said Bill, “so we determined that it was time to begin looking for property in order to build a new facility. The property in Centerfield was close enough to the local hospital that we could meet the medical needs of our patients, and it would also be suitable for the structure that we wanted to build.” The new community care center will have an assisted living level II section, along with the long-term care facility. The building, containing 30,000 square feet of living space, at an approximate cost of $3.9 million, is targeted for completion in the spring of 2008. USDA and Webbank are funding the construction. The assisted living side of the building will have rooms for couples and single rooms, which will house 16 residents. These rooms will be private pay and separated from the long(See “Care Center” on A2) |
