www.tooeletranscript.com
TUESDAY
TRANSCRIPT BULLETIN
GHS tennis hits victory over Park City See A10
TOOELE
Check out the s on ou r new W eb
feature
tooeletra n
sit
script.come:
SERVING TOOELE COUNTY SINCE 1894
March 24, 2009
VOL. 115 NO. 089
50¢
County growth rate slows among U.S. counties in 2008 Birth rate still high compared to nation by Tim Gillie STAFF WRITER
Tooele County’s status as a population growth leader nationwide slipped a little lower in 2008, according to data recently released by the U.S. Census
Bureau. The county’s 4 percent growth rate puts it in a tie with Utah’s Morgan County for No. 43 among the 3,193 counties in the U.S. for 2008 growth. Population figures reported by the U.S. Census bureau are based on estimates for July 1 of each year. Tooele County added 2,201 people in 2008, according to population estimates for U.S. counties, metropolitan and micropolitan areas, released
March 19 by the census bureau. Back in 2001, Tooele County’s growth rate of 4.9 percent landed it in the No. 17 spot among U.S. counties. The county has slid downward since then, placing as No. 29 for growth among U.S. counties in 2007. Tooele ranks No. 6 among Utah counties in its overall growth rate, with Rich County at 5.6 percent giving it a SEE CENSUS PAGE A7 ➤
photography / Maegan Burr
Erica Johnson (right) gets checked in by Mountain West Medical Center labor and delivery department manager Audrey Keepers on Monday afternoon. MWMC has hired additional staff to cope with a larger than average county birth rate.
Wendover bucking the odds
IN MEMORIAM
by Tim Gillie STAFF WRITER
Wendover remains a bright spot for gambling despite an overall downturn in gaming revenue in Nevada during the worst recession in the country in over 20 years. The taxable revenue report for January 2009 from the Nevada State Gaming Control Board shows taxable revenue in downtown Las Vegas is down 25.2 percent; the Las Vegas strip area down 32.9 percent; the Mesquite area down 15.2 percent; the Reno area down 2 percent; and North Shore Lake Tahoe down 10.2 percent. The figures for Wendover go against the trend. In January 2009, taxable gaming revenue for the Wendover area of Elko County was up 16.5 percent. “Business is holding pretty steady,” said Saul Andradea, spokesperson for the Peppermill, Rainbow, and Montego Bay Hotels and Casinos. “I would not say it is booming, but it is definitely better than other areas of Nevada.” SEE WENDOVER PAGE A5 ➤ photography / Maegan Burr
Flowers lay near the site of a weekend head-on collision on SR-138 in Stansbury Park Monday afternoon. Two Grantsville residents and a friend from Bluffdale died in the crash.
Police still investigating crash that killed three in Stansbury by Jamie Belnap
wise motion and left the Dodge backwards off the side of the road — both severely mangled. A small monument construct“[The vehicles] didn’t go far ed of flowers, hand-written let- after impact — maybe 15 feet,” ters, photos, and teddy bears still Gutierrez said. UV INDEX marks the site of a fatal accident All three occupants of the SATURDAY SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY along SR-138 in Stansbury Park. Dodge — Kendra Naisbitt, 23, of It’s an emotional reminder of Bluffdale, Bailey Corless, 17 of 5 6 6 6 6 5 4 three friends who died when the Grantsville, and Taft Ahlstrom, 20, vehicle they were traveling in was of Grantsville — were pronounced Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun Mon Tue hit head on by an approaching dead on scene. Gutierrez said The higher the AccuWeather.com UV Index™ car Saturday afternoon. the three were friends. Corless number, the greater the need for eye and skin protection. 0-2 Low; 3-5 Moderate; 6-7 High; 8-10 Just after 3:45 p.m., Jacob White, and Ahlstrom worked together Very High; 11+ Extreme 18, of Stansbury Park, was travel- at Macey’s Food and Drug in ALMANAC ing eastbound on the state road Tooele. Statistics for the week ending March 23. when the white 2007 Ford Fire crews had to use extricaIntervals of clouds and 500 Warmer with sunshine Mostly sunny Mostly cloudy Temperatures he was driving drifted tion clouds equipment to cut into both sunshineinto theand patchy High/Low past week 70/28 opposite lane near the Benson vehicles to free all four victims. Normal high/low past week 54/32 54 Mill, 36 striking 56a 1991 36 white 63 White, 40 who 58 31only perAverage temp past week 50.3 Grist was the Normal average temp past week 43.1 Dodge Spirit head on, according son wearing a seat belt properly COUNTY WEATHER Daily Temperatures High Low to Sgt. Bob Gutierrez, of the Utah at the time of the accident, was photo courtesy of UHP Highway Patrol. air-lifted to University Hospital 65 62 63 68 70 56 The impact caused the Ford Emergency workers stand 45 near a mangled 1991 Dodge Spirit after the head-on colto spin 180 degrees in a clockSEE FATAL PAGE A5 ➤ lision on SR-138 Saturday afternoon. STAFF WRITER
OOELE DAY
y sunny
27 OOELE
47
48 37 39 41 35 28
Tue Wed Thu Clive BULLETIN BOARD Knolls 52/33
CLASSIFIEDS
51/32
A8 B4
HOMETOWN
B1
OBITUARIES
A6, A7
OPEN FORUM SPORTS TV LISTINGS
WEATHER
A4 A10 B2
See Complete Forecast on A9
Lake Point 51/32 Stansbury Park Erda 51/32 Grantsville 54/34 Pine Canyon 51/32 40/23 Bauer Tooele 50/31 50/32 Stockton 50/31 Rush Valley Ophir 50/30 40/23
Sat
4.60 4.86
0.49 0.58
1.47 1.83
Last Normal Month Normal Year Normal Week for week to date M-T-D to date Y-T-D
Snowfall (in inches) 57.7
Last Week
by Jamie Belnap STAFF WRITER
Two children were injured in two separate ATV accidents in Tooele County over the weekend. The first happened just before noon on Saturday when a 5-year-old boy riding a mini dirt bike crashed into a 7-year-old boy at the Knolls recreation area, according to the Tooele County Sheriff’s Office. The impact broke the 5-year-old’s leg and he was flown to Primary Children’s Medical Center. The other boy was not injured. Later that evening, Tooele City police were dispatched to a medical call involving an ATV accident at the old airport. “When they got there a 6-year-old with a head injury was laying at the bottom of a gravel pit,” said Lt. Paul Wimmer, of the Tooele City Police Department. The boy had been riding a four-wheeler with his grandfather at about 6 p.m. in the area, which features several gravel drainage ponds, when the man tried to drive the ATV up a steep embankment. The movement caused the ATV to tip over backward, throwing the youngster from the machine, Wimmer said. Neither rider was wearing a helmet at the time of the accident. The child was air-lifted to Primary Children’s Medical Center with head injuries. The grandfather SEE ATV PAGE A5 ➤
Sun Mon
Precipitation (in inches)
1.7 Dugway 51/31
Fri
Two kids hurt in weekend ATV accidents
8.2 Month to date
SNOWPACK
Season to date
INSIDE Erda resident pens first children’s picture book See B1
ID kits sent home with school-age kids See A3