Daily Herald | Posted: Wednesday, December 31, 2008 11:00 pm
SANPETE COUNTY-- As Sanpete County residents retrace stories through 2008, they might remember the gas leak cleanup effort and renovation of the Casino Star Theater in Gunnison and several towns installed new council members.
A gasoline tanker rolled on State Road 28 at the south Fayette turnoff. The truck was hauling 12,500 gallons of gasoline and approximately 9,000 gallons spilled. Crews removed the gas-soaked soil and replaced it with new soil. The driver was not seriously injured.
The Sanpete County Commissioners approved the largest budget in history, at just under $27 million. The bulk of the budget went to construction of the new jail complex.
Mt. Pleasant Mayor Chesley Christensen was appointed to a one-year term on the American Public Power Association's Policy Maker Council by APPAs board of directors. Mayor Christensen is system representative to the Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems in Mt. Pleasant and is active in community affairs.
A former Snow College student was diagnosed with tuberculosis, causing county-wide concern. Students and staff members were tested and several students tested positive. They were isolated for a time and received treatment from private physicians and Central Utah Public Health facilities. The infected student had returned home to Taiwan, where she was diagnosed.
Dr. Dwight Inouye, Gunnison was selected by Sanpete County Commissioners to fill the commission seat held by Bruce Blackham, who resigned. He served until Steve Frischknecht was elected in November. Other candidates for the seat were Bruce King, Axtell; and Rex Brown, Centerfield.
LDS Church President Gordon B. Hinckley, passed away at age 97, in his Salt Lake City apartment. He was the 15th president in the 177-year history of the church and had served as president since 1995. Thomas S. Monson, president of the Quorum of the 12 Apostles was named 16th president.
Neil R. and Joan G Van Leeuwen, Manti, were chosen to receive the 2008 Ephraim LDS Institute Annual Sweetheart Award. The institute faculty and students present the award to a couple who exemplify the LDS standards of marriage and family. The Van Leeuwen's are the 31st couple to be honored.
A Mt. Pleasant couple, Bud and Karen Jensen, were injured when their home in Whispering Pines subdivision exploded, leaving a smoldering hole in the ground. The incident was apparently caused due to a propane leak. The couple were transported by ambulance to Sanpete Valley Hospital and later life-flighted in separate helicopters to the University of Utah Hospital burn unit.
Emergency crews were hampered by tough access to the site due to one-lane roads, snow, lack of water and traffic congestion.
Moroni Feed Credit Union opened a new office in Mt. Pleasant, just east of Terrel's Marketplace. The branch office is managed by Daniel Green. Moroni Feed Company celebrated 70 years of business with a banquet held in the Moroni Activity Center, with a dinner and dance. A local musical group, Junction 89 performed the evening's entertainment.
Colorful kites filled the air at the top of Fairview Canyon for the annual Snowkite Masters Festival. Snowkiters and snowboard enthusiasts raced and slid down the hills and dales as fast as they could for the entire weekend.
Two North Sanpee High School students, Rebecca Lee and Ethan Aldridge, were selected to participate in the 36th Annual State-wide All-state High School Art Show held at the Springville Museum of Art. Both student's works of art were featured in the full-color All-state High School Art Show 2008 catalogue.
Winter weather claimed a portion of a Mt. Pleasant historic building. The eastern portion of the Wasatch Block Building, which originally housed the second J.C. Penny store in the country collapsed Feb. 22, at approximately 2 p.m. The remaining building was shored-up, both inside and out until it could be safely removed. Christensen Brothers Rock Company later removed the damaged portion of the historic building.
A proposed subdivision in the hills above Mt. Pleasant caused controversy among Sanpete County residents. Aspen Grove Assets, a corporation by the Apostolic United Brethren purchased over 800 acres with the intent to creat a subdivision beginning with approximately 87 homes. Several meetings were held at various locations to discuss the issue.
Oil was discovered near Mayfield. A Wolverine Gas and Oil representative said if the well does produce, they might purchase land and if it produces enough, a pipeline would be installed.
Tragedy struck Sanpete County with the murders of two residents in April. Annette Young, Fairview, and Martin Cannon, Mt. Pleasant, were killed by Donald Bert Richardson. Richardson fled to Oregon, where he later turned himself into authorities. He was later sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Three Snow College football players were sentenced before Sixth Judicial District Court Judge Wallace A. Lee for sentencing in connection with the burglary and arson at a car wash in Ephraim. Andrew Castaneda was charged with five counts of burglary and one count of arson. He will serve one year in the Sanpete County Jail and be required to complete 100 hours of community service and 36 months probation.
Troy Cummings Jr., was charged with four counts of burglary and was sentenced to an indeterminate term not to exceed five years in the Utah State Prison for each of the counts. The prison terms were suspended. He will serve 365 days in the Sanpete County Jail and probation for 36 month.
Stephon L. Thrash pled guilty to one count of arson and five counts burglary. He was sentenced to not less than one year and not more than 15 years in the Utah State Prison and an indeterminate term not to exceed five years for each of the five counts of burglary. All prison sentences were suspended. He was ordered to spend one years in the Sanpete County jail and be on probation for 36 months. Restitution was assessed on all charges.
North Sanpete High School science teacher J. Edward Staker, was presented with the Arch Coal Teacher Achievement Award for his exemplary career during a ceremony at Castle Heights Elementary in Price.
Monte Bona, Mt. Pleasant, received the Silver Bowl Award for Sanpete County during the annual ceremony held at the Provo Marriott Hotel. Bona serves on the Mt. Pleasant City Council and on various other volunteer projects.
Young Sanpete County residents were killed in tragic accidents. Ashley Aagard, age 21, daughter of Roger and Denice Aagard, Fountain Green, was ejected from her car as it rolled on State Road 132; an ATV accident claimed the life of 18-year-old Rachael Hamblin, daughter of Karl and Carrie Hamblin, Wales. Hamblin was driving an ATV with McKenzie Sargarent when she apparently lost control of the vehicle and drove down a 30-foot embankment into the creek in Pleasant Creek Canyon. The rapid current carried Hamblin downstream. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
In another ATV accident, 11-year-old Ephraim girl was killed while a passenger in a Rhino ATV being driven by another youth. The vehicle hit a curb and turned onto its side, trapping the victim underneath. The driver and two other passengers were slightly injured.
A family trek up Fairview Canyon turned tragic in August. The 12 family members were re-enacting the pioneer trek from Fairview to Castle Dale, when a man from Idaho, driving a pickup truck drifted slightly onto the shoulder of the road and crashed into one of the handcarts. Montell Seeley, 74, Castle Dale, and his granddaughter, Hannah Wagstaff, 13, Tropic, were struck and killed. The driver of the truck was blinded by the morning sun and did not see the "pioneers." Other family members were also injured.
A Salt Creek Canyon roll-over took the life of Adam Livingston, 31, St. George. He was a passenger in a car dirven by Kenneth Otteson, 32, Mt. Pleasant. Otteson was charged with automobile homicide, assault on a poilce officer and assault on an EMT.
Artist Kaziah Hancock, Manti, was awarded the Bronze Minuteman Award during the 47th Annual Minuteman Awards dinner held in Salt Lake City. She is an internationally known artist who for the past five years ahas donated her services to the families of fallen service members. In 2003, she began offering one free 18x24 oil painting to a relative or friend of military members killed while serving on active duty during the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. She has painted nearly 500 portraits to date.
Former Snow College employee Paula Brewer was terminated after a full, in-depth investigation of inappropriate charges. Brewer made full restitution.
Kayla Barclay, daughter of Mike and Susan Barclay, Manti, was named Miss Utah 2008, during a pageant held in Salt Lake City. She reigned as Miss Sanpete 2007.
Mt. Pleasant Recreation Center and doughboy monument underwent renovations. The rec center received a new coat of paint and the doughboy monument has the missing rifle re-mounted. Artists painted a mural on the side of the building, depicting soldiers from various conflicts.
A large marijuana garden was found near Bill's Creek in October by two deer hunters. Two male subjects were caught fleeing from the area and arrested. Cesar Duran Frias and Jose Luis Rodriguez, were both charged with possession of marijuana and possession of a dangerous weapon. Both men were later indicted by a federal grand jury.
Sanpete County deputies and other law enforcement personnel went to the grow area and found 15,000 to 20,000 marijuana plants in four different areas. The plants were removed from the area and destroyed.
A Head Start school bus collided with a vehicle driven by Donald Kitchell, Fayette, on State Road 28, north of Gunnison. The Kitchell vehicle made a u-turn into the path of the bus, sending the bus into the northbound land where it crashed into a Flying J tanker truck, driven by Keith G. Price, Annabella. According to a Utah Highway Patrol report, five head start students, the driver of the bus and an adult aid and the driver of the car were all transported to the Gunnison Valley Hospital with minor to moderate injuries.
Snow College celebrated 120 years of history. Founded as Sanpete Stake Academy, the first classes were held Nov. 5, 1888, in the building that now houses Ephraim Co-op. Snow has grown from that one-room schoolhouse to Central Utah's largest institution of learning. Events and activities were held for the entire week in celebration..
Sanpete County voters turned out in large numbers for the general election held Nov. 4. Long lines formed early as citizens voiced their choices for national and local candidates and issues. Democrat Barack Obama was elected as the first African-American president. Sanpete voters game them 1,567 votes. Republican Jason Chaffetz will take Chris Cannon's seat in Washington, D.C. Spencer J. Cox was elected to fill the seat of Commissioner Dwight Inouye.
Fairview named a new mayor to replace Mayor Spencer J. Cox. The Fairview City Council selected Councilman Jonathan Benson to fill the remainder of Cox's term. Cox was elected to fill a county commission seat. His resignation will take effect Wednesday, Dec. 31. Fairview councilmembers chose Bob Nielson to fill Jonathan Benson's council seat.
The annual Boy Scout Emergency Food Drive set a record by collecting over 18,000 pounds of food for the Sanpete County Food Bank.
Spring City artists Joe and Lee Bennion received the Utah Governor's Mansion Artist award. The Bennions, who shared the award for visual arts, are the first husband and wife team to be awarded simultaneously.
A plea agreement was reached in the trial for former Fountain Green resident Carmen Papenfuss. She was charged with child abuse homicide in connection with the death of her 21-day-old daughter, Shelah. Sixth District Court Judge David Mower presided over the proceedings. According to reports, the plea agreement is due to a witness for the defense giving more information than the county attorneys had wanted.
Indianola Valley will have their own fire department due in part to a generous land donation by Joe Bowler and family. The department will be located close to U.S. Highway 89 at the turn off for the Hideaway Valley area.
The presence of a fire station in the area may make properties more attractive to potential buyers. Fire Chief Kent Higgins said, "This is an admirable example of how the efforts of a few and the goodwill of a cooperative community can succeed at creating something valuable, thus enhancing the life conditions for all."
An "angel in disguise" made an appearance in Ephraim and handed out a lot of good cheer in the form on $100 bills. The man entered McDonalds and handed the cashier seven $100 bills and told her to divide it with the other employees. He said he had a good year and wanted to share his good fortune.
The cashier took the money to the shift manager. She returned and told the man they would not be able to accept the money. He said he was not leaving with the money and left the store. A shift manager told The Pyramid the generosity of the "angel" was emotional for the employees, most of whom work for minimum wage on a part-time basis.
There was one confirmed story of a customer receiving a $100 bill from a young lady at McDonalds who said "Merry Christmas" as she handed her the bill. The lady was in McDonalds with her grandson after taking him Christmas shopping. There was also unconfirmed stories about the "angel" visiting other businesses in the area.