The Morgan County News | December 22, 2023

Page 1

$1.50 Dec. 22, 2023 | Vol. 2 Iss. 49

See Inside...

“Heart of our Hometown’

MORGAN COUNTY NEWS

Local women honored for making a difference

page 4

Covering Your Community Since 1929

Morgan County News takes holiday break There will be no paper on Dec. 29 to allow our staff to enjoy Christmas with their families. The Jan. 5 edition will be delivered as usual. Thank you for your support of Morgan County News.

NEWS BREAK Icelandic volcano erupts

THE ORCHESTRA TUNES their instruments in the light of a bright evergreen tree.

Courtesy photos

Morgan Valley Arts performs the third annual ‘Messiah’ By Ethan Hoffmann

L

ast Sunday, Dec. 17, the Morgan Valley Arts Council presented its third annual production of Messiah. Messiah is a free family event and a dress rehearsal was open to the public on Dec. 10 at 8 p.m. The event was located in the Morgan High School auditorium and took place at 7:30. Visitors were greeted by towering Christmas trees adorned with red poinsettia flowers and a spiritual aura to welcome the Christmas season. Opening remarks were given and the invocation was introduced by Amy Ward. In addition, Rudy Cordeiro read the program notes. The concert featured singers and orchestra players from the Morgan Valley Chamber and the music was conducted by Emily Shumway Pfeifer with Abby Marie Beattie serving as the concertmaster. The performance was divided into five scenes and four unique voice parts were included throughout. Macey Quigley Russel as mezzo-soprano, Cliff Sharp as tenor, Bill Wiser as baritone, and a special appearance from Clara Hurtado Lee. To learn more about Lee, visit: https://www.clarahurtadolee.com/ The performance itself incorporated seasonal highlights from the Messiah oratorio written by George Frédéric Handel, a German-British composer. An oratorio is “a large-scale musical work for orchestra and voices, typically has a religious theme” as stated by Oxford Languages. Thetabernaclechoir.org states, “Handel composed Messiah without getting much sleep or even eating much food. When his assistants brought him his meals, they were often left uneaten. His servants would often find him in tears as he composed. When he completed “Hallelujah,” he reportedly told his servant, “I did think I did see all Heaven before me, and the great God Himself seated on his throne, with His company of Angels.” During the show, the audience was invited to participate by singing along to multiple songs in the program. The most memorable of them all was the finale, “Hallelujah”, which encour-

I

n the ongoing case of Wasatch Peaks Ranch, Judge Noel S. Hyde of Second District Court has issued a preliminary injunction barring the resort from moving ahead with any development. The preliminary injunction was issued on Dec. 8, eight days after Hyde had entered a temporary restraining order against the development. According to the preliminary injunction, WPR may not move forward in any way on the 12,000-acre property except for “protective maintenance.” “Wasatch Peaks Ranch shall imme-

Sandra Day O'Connor laid to rest

Sandra Day O’Connor, the first woman in the U.S. Supreme Court was laid to rest this week and was memorialized and eulogized for her work in the U.S. government. Appointed by President Reagan in 1981, O’Connor served on the Supreme Court from that year until 2006. Known for her meticulous research, O’Connor was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Obama in 2009 and continued working as an activist and public speaker after her retirement. O’Connor died Dec. 1, 2023, due to complications of a respiratory illness.

Intense winter storm strikes northeast

(FROM LEFT TO RIGHT) CLIFF SHARP, Clara Hurtado Lee, Abby Beattie, Emily Shumway Pfeifer, Macey Quigley Russel, and Bill Wiser.

aged the audience to stand and sing with the choir while being accompanied by the orchestra. According to https://www.wqxr. org/story/why-do-we-stand-during-messiahs-hallelujah-chorus/, the most accepted reason for this tradition is that “King George II stood up during the chorus at the Messiah's 1743

MESSIAH on page 3

Judge issues preliminary injunction against Wasatch Peaks Ranch By Linda Petersen

After weeks of calm, a fissure erupted this week with lava spewing high into the air just miles north of the town of Grindavík, Iceland. Thus far, the eruption has been favorable, with minimal ash, and the lava flow heading away from both the town and the nearby Svartsengi power station and Blue Lagoon resort. Thanks to early preparation on the part of Icelanders, experts are confident that the damage will be minimal. Experts also predict that the eruption will taper off, but likely will last several weeks, if not months.

diately cease all construction and development activity on the property which is the subject of the Ordinance, to the extent that such activity is inconsistent with the zoning status of the property immediately prior to the passage of the Ordinance,” Hyde’s order reads. In September Hyde authorized five Morgan County residents, Whitney Croft, David Pike, Robert Bohman, Brandon Peterson, and Shelley Paige, opposed to the development to go ahead with a referendum petition that seeks to have county voters weigh in on the Oct. 30, 2019 rezone which allowed the resort to come into be-

ing. The five residents thought this would halt all work on the property until that referendum, but on Oct. 3 Morgan County commissioners approved a subdivision in the development. Morgan County Attorney Garrett Smith said at that time that Hyde’s September ruling only applied to applications filed after his decision. However, the order issued Dec. 8 and posted Dec. 14 makes clear that Hyde disagrees with Smith. Any development or promotion of the resort in any way is not allowed until the case has been decid-

INJUNCTION on page 3

Despite a relatively temperate December in the west, the Northeast has been pounded by a severe storm this week. A deluge of rainfall flooded roads and towns across the eastern seaboard and has already caused at least 5 deaths. Disaster workers and relief agencies are scrambling to provide as much aid as possible as a predicted temperature drop threatens to turn a bad situation even worse in the days and weeks ahead. Flights, public transportation, and more have all been affected by the storm, and will likely be affected into the holiday weekend.

Jonathan Majors dropped by Marvel

Following a series of ups and downs in the franchise, Marvel leadership had banked on Jonathan Majors’ Kang the Conqueror being the next big villain of the multi-million dollar empire. Arrested in connection with abuse and assault claims earlier this year, Majors has gone through a series of legal battles to contest his innocence and was just declared guilty of reckless assault in the 3rd degree and a non-criminal charge of harassment. Immediately following the verdict, Marvel announced that it was dropping the actor from his role, but still intended on going through with planned titles featuring the character.


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.