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Saratoga Springs, Eagle Mountain, Fairfield, Cedar Fort and Lehi
Advertise call 801-787-9502 Thecrossroadsjournal.com Printed Bi-Monthly
January 10 - January 23, 2015
Community News and Information for Northern Utah County
Vol 015 No 1
Photo By Eagle Mountain City
Eagle Mountain—2014 in Review By Matthew Gary Milam
In Eagle Mountain during 2014 there were certainly low events, like starting the year out with the tragic shooting of Officer Cory Wride on SR73, as well as the tragic, accidental death of Cynthia Weeks at hers and her husband’s Eagle Mountain business location. There were events (preceded by months of deliberation culminating in the November vote) like the sale of the Eagle Mountain utilities to Rocky Mountain Power and Questar that were either a high or a low depending upon your perspective. But mostly there were plenty of highs that made living in Eagle Mountain in the year 2014 a great experience. The city itself continued to grow in population numbers, maintaining its status as one of fastest growing areas of Utah. As evidence of this, closely following the ringing in of the new year in January, Ridley’s Market opened up along with its neighbor, Ace Hardware. For residents of Eagle Mountain—especially in the Ranches area—this was a welcome event. An eventful outdoor summer season included another successful Pony Express Days and enjoyable Independence Day and Pioneer Day fireworks shows and celebrations. Military Service men and women were welcomed home to Eagle Mountain throughout the year, and various athletic events rounded out
a memorable Eagle Mountain 2014 year. The following great events also occurred in Eagle Mountain in 2014. On January 6, new Mayor Christopher Pengra and Council Members Adam Bradley and Tom Westmoreland were sworn in and officially took office. On January 11, Eagle Mountain resident Noelle Pikus-Pace claimed her third win and fifth medal of the season after dominating the women’s skeleton World Cup in St. Moritz. Dan Burton, Eagle Mountain resident, became the first man on record to bike 100% of the way across Antarctica to the South Pole. Mayor Pengra took the polar plunge to help the Special Olympics. In the fall, Blackridge Elementary School opened for the 2014-2015 school year. The building of a cemetery in Eagle Mountain was a joyful thing for many Eagle Mountain residents wishing to have their departed loved ones close by. As 2014 came to a close, residents continued expressing concerns over the possible relocation of the Utah Prison to Eagle Mountain. Meetings were held as many residents expressed their opposition to the prison relocation. The year closed out with an excellent multi-community (Eagle Mountain and Saratoga Springs) encore performance of Handel’s Messiah at a City Center LDS church building.
Photo By The Crossroads Journal
Saratoga Springs— 2014 in Review
By Matthew Gary Milam
In considering the events of the year 2014 in Saratoga Springs, there was a lot to think about. A couple of very high-profile events took place in autumn. In September, a young man named Darian Hunt lost his life in a controversial shooting involving Saratoga Springs police—a tragic, unfortunate event for all involved, and Mia Love, former Saratoga Springs mayor, was elected to US Congress. These and many other events occurred to make 2014 a year to remember. On January 6, newly-elected Mayor Jim Miller and council members Michael McOmber and Stephen Willden were sworn in during the City Council meeting. In sad contrast, Brent Call, a former City Council member from 2008-2012, passed away in January. Other notable events in Saratoga Springs during 2014 included: the Miss Saratoga Springs Scholarship Pageant held in March at Vista Heights Middle School; the swearing in of three Saratoga Springs Fire Department Captains—Jerry Lund, Tyson Fraizer, and Kenny Johnson, at the April City Council meeting; the annual Splash Days in June, with its parade, Splash Bash, and picnic and Movie Night in the Park; the Saratoga Springs Police Department’s annual National Night Out Against Crime event; the first-ever film
festival held in Neptune Park in August; Saratoga Springs being voted “The Best Place for Homeownership in Utah” by Nerdwallet; Mayor Jim Miller taking the Polar Plunge; Panda Express opening and Café Rio entering its final stages of construction; nearby Camp Williams having the Iron Will event in celebration of its 100 years of existence; Saratoga Springs Arts Council continuing its 2014 Arts in the Park series with the comedy act, “Laugh O” in Neptune Park; and a bomb scare at West Lake High School in early fall. In late 2014, the roads of Saratoga Springs—to many people—became unrecognizable. First, the formerly straightshot drive from Crossroads through to Eagle Mountain became a little curvy. Then, one day late in the year, drivers heading west on Pioneer Crossing expecting to turn either right or left, suddenly realized that they could keep driving straight across Redwood Road and then eventually merge with SR 73, heading west toward Eagle Mountain City Center and Cedar Fort. The year was rounded out nicely in December with the annual tree lighting event in Neptune Park and the multi-community (Saratoga Spring and Eagle Mountain) performance of Handel’s Messiah at West Lake High School.
SS Police Blotter and Year-end Statistical Analysis By Matt Schauerhamer Jeff Spicoli Spotted At Inlet Park:
Three people in a vehicle were observed at Inlet Park after the park had closed. The driver of the vehicle was an alcohol-restricted driver, making it illegal for him to operate a vehicle with any measurable amount of alcohol in his system. He had been drinking and was obviously under the influence of a controlled substance. Two men and a woman were in the vehicle and had all glaringly been smoking marijuana. When they talked, they sounded eerily similar to Jeff Spicoli from Fast Times at Ridgemont High – giving officers a fairly good idea they had each smoked their share of the ganja. The vehicle was searched and yielded marijuana and drug paraphernalia. One of the occupants of the vehicle had attempted to conceal his marijuana in the seat, but it was nevertheless located. They were booked into Utah County Jail for various drug related charges and the driver added another DUI arrest to his criminal history.
It’s Kind of a Hobby. . . That’s Why I Have a Kit:
Officers responded to a residence to serve an arrest warrant on a woman. The wom an’s mother turned her in and explained her daughter was on a “meth binge.” A
search of the woman’s purse, incident to arrest, yielded a kit. The kit wasn’t for building model airplanes or cars. It contained tools for ingesting illicit drugs. The kit had baggies for methamphetamine, a bent spoon used to heat narcotics into a liquid state, cotton to filter heroin through, a syringe for injecting heroin, and a shoelace knotted to form a slip knot. I describe the “kit” so other parents can recognize some of the common “tools” used by drug users. She was booked into Salt Lake County Jail for her warrant and issued a summons for her new charges.
We’re Watching You. . . Go Into the Bathroom:
An officer was doing a late night foot patrol of Walmart because of numerous incidents of late night thefts at the store. A male walking in front of the officer noticed the officer and started acting very nervous. He immediately retreated to the bathrooms. The officer saw the man again a few minutes later and he was still acting nervous. The officer suddenly realized he recognized the man and knew he was wanted and had a felony warrant for his arrest. The officer waited for the man to exit the store and pulled him over on SR73. He took the man into custody for
the warrant. Had the man just shopped rather than retreating nervously into the bathroom, the officer may have never noticed it was the same person who had a felony arrest warrant. 2014 YEAR END RECAP: Some of the following are areas the police department served the community of Saratoga Springs. Drug Arrests: 310 – This included arrests for possession or distribution of marijuana, methamphetamine, heroin, cocaine, spice, paraphernalia, hallucinogenic and synthetic drugs. DUI Arrests: 93 – Of the DUI arrests by the police department in 2014, 45 were drug-related and the remaining 48 were alcohol-related DUI’s. Six of the DUI arrests involved traffic accidents with property damage only, and 4 of the DUI arrests involved traffic accidents with personal injuries. Assaults: 63 – There were 63 assaults investigated by the police department in 2014. These assaults involved simple assaults, aggravated assaults, and assaults on peace officers. Domestic Violence: - 59 – There were 59 incidents of domestic violence investigated by the police department. These include incidents of assault, criminal mischief, and
other domestic violence-related offenses. Traffic Accidents: 370 – There were 370 traffic accidents investigated by the police department. Two hundred of them were reportable traffic accidents (involving more than $1,500.00 worth of damage to vehicles). Eighty of them were non-reportable traffic accidents (less than $1,500.00 worth of damage to vehicles), 58 accidents involved personal injury, while 32 were hit-and-run related traffic accidents. Citizen Assists: 1,528 – The police department aided in over 1,500 Citizen Assist calls. Those calls included changing tires, unlocking vehicles, vacation patrols of homes, tours for youth groups, and a myriad of other day-to-day observations and calls to service in the community. The Saratoga Springs Police Department responded on over 7,000 calls of service in 2014 that generated case numbers. That didn’t even begin to take into consideration the numberless other positive encounters with people in the community that didn’t generate cases. 2014 was a very productive year for the police department and it looks forward to another successful year in 2015 serving the community and its residents.