thePyramid We A r e S a n p e t e . c o m
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We A r e S a n p eNew t e . cUtah om Thursday, August 6, 2020 • Vol. 129, No. 32 • 75 cents
North Sanpete cabin destroyed by fire BY KEN HANSEN
MT. PLEASANT — A massive blaze engulfed a cabin and neighboring garage above Skyline Mountain Resort Wednesday, west of Mountainville Road between Mt. Pleasant and Fairview. No one was home at the time of the fire but family members of the owner had been there not long before. According to Sanpete County Sherriff’s Detective Derick Taysom, the call came in to 911 around 9:30 a.m. Michelle Mansfield was asleep in a small cabin right next to the burning house when she and her boyfriend were awoken by strange “popping noises.” “My boyfriend is the one who was hearing the noises and couldn’t figure out what it was,” Mansfield said. “I have a bedroom upstairs and I have a window that was facing (the lot that was on fire). My boyfriend said it sounded like gun shots. He looked out the window and the flames were higher than the trees.” A neighbor, who Mansfield identified as Jeremy and his dad happened to have a fire hose they were able to hook up to a hydrant in front of the cabin she was in. “They were able to soak down the cabin and the trees between it and the fire before the firefighters got there,” she said. “I believe that is the only reason it was contained.” When fire crews finally reached the scene they said that they had done a good job of soaking the area down. Mansfield’s parents own two cabins on the lot just above C-44 where the fire was raging. “They built the cabins pretty much by themselves and they live there full-time.” They were house-sitting the two cabins for her parents who were away on
A Utah State Fire Marshal investigator surveys the damage of last Wednesday’s fire that destroyed a cabin and garage west of Skyline Mountain Resort. Flames can be seen shooting high in to the sky as a propane tank is set off during a fire last Wednesday above Skyline Mountain Resort near Fairview, Utah. The cabin and nearby garage were a complete loss. vacation. She said that she can be a deep sleeper and that if her boyfriend hadn’t been there it’s likely the fire would have taken the cabin she was in as well as the other one on the lot. When they first came out of the cabin Mansfield said she could hear a high-pitched squealing that sounded like it could be a female. Her boyfriend went down to look, dodging the flames between the burning cabin and garage but couldn’t see anything. He was forced to back off because of the heat from the fire. It turns out that the noises she heard were from pressure release valves on propane tanks. “It was
very intense. There was a lot of adrenaline running.” Taysom said that there were several propane tanks on the property. “I was told there were some BBQ propane tanks in the back of the cabin and a small propane tank inside of the cabin.” Plumes of flame could be seen shooting in to the air from below the fire every time one of the tanks went off. While her boyfriend and neighbor were hosing down the cabin and neighboring trees, Mansfield ran up to the other cabin owned by her parents to wake her 17-yearold daughter Madisen, who was puppy-sitting for her grandparents while they were gone. By that time the fire department had arrived and blocked the road heading down the mountain so Mansfield, her daughter, and the puppies were forced to evacuate uphill. Due to a combination of high, dry heat and an abundance of dry juni-
per, grass and other potential fuel, Sanpete County dispatch called out firefighters from across the county. “My understanding is most of the agencies from the central to north part of the county were there, as well as (the) Department of Natural Resources,” Taysom said. As of press time, the cause of the blaze had not been determined. Calls to the Utah State Fire Marshal had not been returned. The property owner has been identified as Sherril Saunders. In a public post on the Skyline Mountain Resort Facebook page Saunders said, “A huge thank you to the fire fighters and the police and sheriff departments and anyone else who were able to contain the fire to the cabin… We are very grateful the loss was only to our property and the wonderful work of everyone involved limited it to that area only. We are grateful that no one was harmed.”
COVID-19 Impacted Businesses Grants available
SALT LAKE CITY—To help keep Utah businesses afloat, the Utah Legislature has allocated $25 million in federal CARES Act funds for a new COVID-19 Impacted Businesses Grant Program. The initiative, managed by the Governor’s Office of Economic Development, is known as “Shop In Utah” and began accepting applications on July 27. Shop In Utah provides grants to businesses negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Companies must offer a discount, coupon or other offer with an estimated value to their customers of at least 50 percent of the grant amount to qualify for the program. Because the Legislature intended this grant to be primarily used to help Utah small businesses in various industries, at least 75 percent of grant funds will be distributed to Utah companies with 250 or fewer full-time employees. “This grant will help businesses and save consumers money,” said Val Hale, GOED’s executive direcPlease see GRANTS, Page A1
Covid-19 update
PHOTOS BY KEN HANSEN/THE PYRAMID
The monument created by Roy Pogue for his wife’s headstone is full of details, including lifelike trees and hand-carved “petroglyphs” .
Roy Pogue sits beside the monument he spent the last two years building as a headstone for his wife in the Moroni cemetery. Pogue says that he built the monument according to the regulations that were given to him by Moroni City officials but that he is now being forced by the city to get a variance to place the stone.
Sanpete County resident fights for the right to place a grave marker for his wife BY GLORIA ALBRECHT
MORONI — When Roy Pogue’s wife Christine passed away two and a half years ago, he tried to find a monument company that would create a grave marker to memorialize his wife and their family. But his vision was not in keeping with traditional monuments and no company could create the monument. So, Roy set out to create a grave marker himself to memorialize his wife of 41 years. After two years of work, the marker, which is made of a combination of white Portland cement and grey Portland cement reinforced with rebar, is finished. To say it is a work of love and a work of art is an understatement. Roy created the two cement “as-
pen stumps” on either side of the monument, which he carefully molded in rubber from actual trees, as to be five feet and four inches tall like his wife and five feet and nine inches talk like himself. There are six short stumps or limbs which represent their six children, each one carved with the initials of a child. The rock foundation between the aspens is a bench which is finished to look like sandstone and decorated with petroglyphs of deer and big horn sheep considered by ancient cultures to be spirit guides. Shortly before her passing, Roy’s wife Chris made a simple request – she wanted her memorial to say, “off on another adventure”, so that inspirational statement has been engraved on the monument as well.
Roy chose the quaking aspen for the memorial design because it is said to be the largest living organism on earth since underground the roots grow together. The monument was created within the size specifications given to Pogue by (then) Moroni City sextant Allen Morley. Christine Pogue was buried in the family plot in the Moroni Cemetery since Christine Pogue’s family are all buried in there and it was Christine’s wish to be buried close to her family. Roy Pogue purchased 7 plots in the cemetery even though Roy and Christine resided in Wales. But when the grave marker was finished Pogue was unable to get permission from Moroni City to install the monument. He was informed that it was too
large – the size specifications for grave markers having recently been changed to disallow markers over 36” tall, even though according to Pogue three quarters of all the current markers exceed that height. Pogue was told he would need a variance from the Moroni City Council to be able to place his wife’s grave marker that he so lovingly created. Pogue has had this magnificent monument on display outside of Value Mart in Moroni hoping to inspire citizens to support him in his effort to get the stone approved for placement in the cemetery. Numerous people have contacted the Moroni City Council to support him in his quest. Pogue hopes to go bePlease see GRAVE MARKER, Page A6
MT. PLEASANT—As of press time, the Central Utah Public Health Department had reported 387 cases in the Six County area. Of those cases 20 have been hospitalized with three deaths. The CUPHD reported 67 total cases in Juab, with 40 recovered, one death and two current hospitalizations; Millard, 122 cases, with three current hospitalizations; Piute, five cases, with four recovered; Sanpete, 113 cases, with 77 recovered and one hospitalization now recovered; and Sevier, 78 cases, with 68 recovered, one hospitalized and two deaths. Wayne County has two cases reported. There was one case reported in the less than one age group; 37 cases in the 1-14 age group; 72 cases reported in the 15-24 age group; 132 in the 2544 age group; 94 in the 45-64 age group; 48 in the 65-84 age group and three cases in the 85+ age group. There have been no deaths in the Six County area. The CUPHD reported 9870 people have been tested for COVID-19. Testing capabilities for COVID-19 have increased dramatically since the beginning of the pandemic. Currently, anyone experiencing flu-like symptoms (which include fever, cough, shortness of breath, sore throat, muscle aches and chills, or decreased sense of smell or taste) should be tested for COVID-19. To find a testing location, visit centralutahpublichealth.org. USD 75¢
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