01-02-20 The Pyramid

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thePyramid We A r e S a n p e t e . c o m

An Edition of the

We A r e S a n p e t e . c o m

| www.heraldextra.com

Thursday, January 2, 2020  •  Vol. 129, No. 1  •  75 cents

NEW DECADE BEGINS

2019 in review RAY LAFOLLETTE

The Pyramid

MT. PLEASANT—With the start of the New Year 2020, take a walk down memory lane and consider how we all got here during the past year. Crime In January, the Sanpete County Sheriff’s Office announced that a large crime ring had been uncovered north of Ephraim and included storage units in the Gunnison area. Several arrests were made in the case. Victims in the case spanned numerous jurisdictions including Sevier County, Richfield, Salina, Gunnison, Ephraim, Mt. Pleasant and Sanpete County. On Jan. 18, Raul Vidrio, who was charged with aggravated murder in the death of 22-year-old Wesley Nay after investigators found his body buried in a grassy meadow near Indianola in October 2016, pleaded not guilty to reportedly killing Nay and burning his remains. Then in May, Vidrio filed guilty pleas in Fourth District Court to murder, a first-degree felony; obstructing justice, a second-degree felony; and abuse of a dead body, a third-degree felony. On May 23, during Vidrio’s sentencing, Judge James Taylor ordered the 22-year-old to serve at least 15 years to life for murder, a first-degree felony. “This particular case is an unusually heinous killing,” Taylor said. “It was calculated, it was planned and it involved him (the victim, Nay) digging his own grave. It involved murdering him in a heinous and callous way.” Vidrio will also serve one-to-15 years for a second-degree felony of obstruction of justice and zero-to-five years for a third-degree felony of desecration of a body. Taylor ordered each sentence to run consecutively. In mid-May, two juvenile boys who ran away from the Pine Ridge Behavioral Health youth home located in Fairview allegedly stole a silver 2008 Chrysler Sebring sedan during the night from the home of Jesse Roberts, Fairview. As a warning to county residents, Sanpete County Detective Derick Taysom pointed out that, “It is not uncommon for the juveniles to steal a vehicle when they run away. If we (Sanpete County Sheriff’s Office) have had a runaway report and a vehicle is missing the next day, the juveniles are always our #1 suspect.” On Aug. 8, in ongoing litigation with Mt. Pleasant City, former Mt. Pleasant Mayor David Blackham through his attorney filed a civil complaint in Sixth District Court against the city of Mt. Pleasant, and against each city council member, individually, in order to obtain redress for their alleged wrongful actions. The Notice of Claim in the case stated that David Blackham is pursuing claims against the city of Mt. Pleasant, and against Dan Anderson, Justin Atkinson, Kevin Stallings, Heidi Kelso, and Keith Collier in their individual capacities based on causes of action for defamation, invasion of privacy/false light, invasion of privacy/publicization of private information, and intentional infliction of emotional

Susan Jacobson

David Blackham

Mack Wilkey distress. This case is still ongoing. More recently, on Nov. 23, it was reported that a 10-year-old boy in a vehicle was hit by a bullet while traveling on U.S. 89 north of Mt. Pleasant. Since that initial report it has been revealed that it was a nine-year-old boy that was wounded. On Dec. 6, Sanpete County Attorney Kevin Daniels said that Camryn Summerhays had been charged with felony discharge of a firearm and misdemeanor reckless endangerment. Daniels also said that Summerhays didn’t intend to hit anyone but was negligent while shooting toward a highway in an area without a barrier to stop fired shots. Awards Mt. Pleasant City Power received two awards. In January, Mayor Dan Anderson and Power Superintendent Shane Ward accepted the UAMPS System Improvement Award presented for undertaking system upgrades, capital improvements and preventive maintenance measures to modernize facilities, improve system reliability, reduce losses, reduce outage times and improving power quality. Later in April, Ward accepted the award for Mt. Pleasant Power when it was designated as a Reliable Public Power Provider (RP3). Last January, the Utah Board of Regents unanimously selected Bradley J. Cook to be the 17th president of Snow College. Cook was officially presented during inaugural ceremonies held Nov. 7. The Mt. Pleasant Historical Pioneer Association recognized Mack Wilkey, 89, and Marilyn Bagnall, 87, as the oldest male and female in attendance at the annual luncheon held March 16. Intermountain Sanpete Valley Hospital recognized Moroni Ambulance last January as the recipients of the hospital’s Emergency Medical Service (EMS) Extraordinary Save award. Then last April the hospital was named one of the Top 100 Critical Access Hospitals in the United States by The Chartis Center for Rural Health.

ERIK OSTLING

Rebecca Rowley The Sanpete Cattlemen’s Association selected Terry C. Rigby, Milburn, as the 2019 King Cowboy during their annual banquet March 21. Glinda the good witch, aka Susan Jacobson, retired from teaching last May from Fountain Green Elementary, where she had been a teacher for the past 15 years with a total of 18 years of experience. Jacobson was a remarkable teacher and was named as Fountain Green Elementary School’s 2018-2019 teacher of the year. The Moroni Veterans Park was dedicated during special ceremonies last Aug. 31. The monument highlights 689 veterans from the area who have served including the Blackhawk War. Wasatch Academy Head of School Joseph Loftin oversaw the dedication of a new engineering building located at 50 South State, Mt. Pleasant. The new engineering center is designed as a large industrial work space with a modular layout that is open by design. It includes state-of-the-art woodworking shop and maker space. Specific high-tech equipment including a laser cutter, a 3D printer, and a welders available for student use. In related news at Wasatch Academy, last October, Wasatch Academy announced that Head of School Joseph Loftin plans to retire after 35 years of service and the next Head of School will be James Matthew Culberson. Beck’s Home Furnishings, of Mt. Pleasant, was named the 2019 BrandSource Dealer of the Year for the Rocky Mountain Region last

Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox August and honored for their commitment to excellence in the retail industry at the BrandSource National Convention and Expo at the Gaylord Texan in Dallas, TX. Sports Last January, North Sanpete High School (NSHS) Hawk swim team traveled to Emery High School for a region swim meet. During the meet, Junior Brigham Lewis was the standout of the group as he broke three school records and qualified for state. He took first place in the 100 Breast Stroke against 40 competitors. Lewis also set a new school record by beating the 200 Freestyle record by a whopping nine seconds. Again, Lewis, along with Alex Mower, Koby Smith, and Neil Briggs, broke the 200 Medley school record by three seconds. In February, North Sanpete High School’s (NSHS) Hawk Drill Team took to the floor at Utah Valley University in the 3A State Drill competition and the team took second place. The first-ever triathlon in Mt. Pleasant was hosted by Mt. Pleasant Aquatic Center last July for those who like to run, bike and swim. This fun and challenging event could be completed in one day or over a two-week period of time. The strongman competition held during Welsh Days last June in Wales, presented a new competitor, the first-ever female, who challenged all of the male strength and tradition of past events. Female, Rebecca Rowley, a professional power-lifter and lifting coach at Utah Iron, a powerlifting facility in Spanish Fork, was one of 16 competitors participating in the event. Although she did not win, she did earn more points than some of the men. Last October 10, North Sanpete Hawks football hosted rival school the Manti Templars for a highly anticipated game on the North Sanpete High School home field. It was the last home game of the season for the Hawks and North Sanpete came out victorious. The new Rating Percentage Index (RPI) ranking system implemented in 2019 by the Please see 2019, Page A6

Terry Rigby

Marilyn Bagnall

Raul Vidrio

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