FRONT PAGE A1 www.tooeletranscript.com TUESDAY TOOELETRANSCRIPT GHS baseball swingingswinging for CHOSEN season Best Small by the SOCIETY OF See A10 Newspaper PROFESSIONAL 2009 in Utah JOURNALISTS BULLETIN 2010& March 8, 2011 SERVING TOOELE COUNTY SINCE 1894 VOL. 117 NO. 81 50¢ West Wendover teen arrested for classmate’s murder by Lisa Christensen STAFF WRITER The weekend disap- pearance of a 16-year-old girl from West Wendover, Nev., has ended in mur- der charges against her 18-year-old classmate. Micaela Costanzo, a junior at West Wendover High School, was reported missing at approximately 5:20 p.m. last Thursday after she failed to come home after track practice. Micaela Costanzo Kody Patten For the next two days, a search was conducted by the West Wendover Kody Patten, 18, a Office said the relation- Maegan Burr Police Department. On senior at the school, was ship between Patten and Rep. Doug Sagers, R-Tooele, speaks at the Tooele County Caucus meeting Thursday at the State Capitol. Sagers, along with the county’s Saturday, a member of the arrested by a sergeant Micaela, and possible other representatives, voted in favor of House Bill 477, which would classify some electronic communications involving public officials as search team, looking in from the Elko County motives for the girl’s mur- exempt from the Government Records Access and Management Act. The bill was recalled on Monday for further study. an area about five miles Sheriff’s Office Monday der, are still under inves- west of West Wendover, as a murder suspect. No tigation. located what appeared charges were filed as of Micaela and Patten to be a shallow grave, in Tuesday morning. were classmates who had which Micaela’s body was Det. James Carpenter of Lawmakers pull back found. the Elko County Sheriff’s SEE MURDER PAGE A12 ➤ on gutting GRAMA LAST WINTER WALK? John Dougall, R-American Fork, seeks Tooele County representatives all said ‘yes’ to to classify public officials’ electronic communication such as text mes- bill before Gov. Gary Herbert could say ‘no’ sages, voice mails, instant messag- es, and video chats as non-records, by Tim Gillie send the bill to the governor’s desk for making them exempt from public a signature with an immediate effec- access. The bill also allowed agencies STAFF WRITER tive date, however, it was recalled by to include unspecified overhead and A bill intended to make sweep- the Senate on Monday and amended administrative costs, along with the ing changes to the state Government to delay the effective date, with legis- actual cost of producing documents Records Access and Management Act lative leaders promising to take time for a GRAMA request, and required made it through the Legislature with to hear concerns from the public and that the requester prove by a prepon- a veto-proof majority in three days the media. last week. Before the House could House Bill 477, sponsored by Rep. SEE BILL PAGE A12 ➤ County re ps discuss final push as Legislature winds down Maegan Burr by Tim Gillie STAFF WRITER Paul Davies walks Carlos and Roxie, Yorkshire Terriers, Tuesday morning on a snowy Smelter Road in Tooele. Several inches of snow fell Monday afternoon into Tuesday morning, but warmer Tax increases and education dominat- temperatures are expected this week.. ed discussion during the final meeting of the Tooele County legislative caucus last Thursday, just one week before the legisla- tive session will draw to a close. SUN AND MOON SEVEN-DAY FORECAST FOR TOOELE UV INDEX Rep. Doug Sagers, R-Tooele, and Sen. Ralph Okerlund, D-Monroe, spoke to a room Unlawful sex abuse The Sun Rise Set WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY Wednesday 6:51 a.m. 6:29 p.m. full of Tooele County citizens Thursday eve- Thursday 6:50 a.m. 6:30 p.m. ning in the House office building at the state Friday 6:48 a.m. 6:31 p.m. 4 5 5 5 5 4 Saturday 6:46 a.m. 6:32 p.m. 3capitol, excusing the other four members Sunday 7:45 a.m. 7:33 p.m. of the Tooele County legislative delegation, conviction dismissed Monday 7:43 a.m. 7:34 p.m. Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun Mon Tuewho were attending other legislative meet- Tuesday 7:42 a.m. 7:35 p.m. The higher the AccuWeather.com UV Index™ The Moon Rise Set number, the greater the need for eye and skin ings. Wednesday 8:44 a.m. 11:33 p.m. protection. 0-2 Low; 3-5 Moderate; 6-7 High; 8-10 Sagers started out by announcing that Case tossed after victim says ex-cop coerced testimony Thursday 9:20 a.m. none Very High; 11+ Extreme while the final budget has yet to be prepared, Friday 10:03 a.m. 12:32 a.m. Saturday 10:53 a.m. 1:29 a.m. ALMANAC it should restore cuts to education and exceed who was later fired for misconduct. Sunday 12:51 p.m. 3:22 a.m. Statistics for the week ending March 7. the governor’s proposal for funding educa- by Lisa Christensen John Jerviss, now 36, pled guilty to Mostly sunny and Times of clouds and Cloudy most of the Monday 1:56 p.m. 4:10 a.m. Mostly cloudy Partly sunny Partly sunny Cloudy Temperatures Tuesday 3:07 p.m. 4:52 a.m. cooler sun time tion. However, educators and administrators STAFF WRITER three charges of class A misdemeanor High/Low past week 56/26were still concerned. attempted sexual battery in April 2008. First Full Last New Normal high/low past week 50/28 52 33 56 35 47 32 52 32 51 35 54 36 57 38 Average temp past week 40.5 “If you give us the same funding as last A case alleging unlawful sexual con- He was sentenced in August of that Normal average temp past week 39.0year, but include $50 million in new unfund- duct between a 34-year-old man and year to 180 days of home confinement, TOOELE COUNTY WEATHER Daily Temperatures High Lowed mandates, our budget is really being cut,” a 16-year-old girl has been dismissed 150 hours of community service and Mar 12 Mar 19 Mar 26 Apr 3 Shown is Wednesday’s Maegan Burr 56 said Rick Harrison, vice-president of the nearly two years after the man pled 36 months of probation — the last of Forecasts and graphics provided by weather. Temperatures are 50 50 Wednesday night’s lows and Tooele School District Superintendent Terry Linares 47raises her hand47 to respond47 46Tooele Education Association. guilty because of recent allegations the which was cut in half because of good AccuWeather, Inc. ©2011 Wednesday’s highs. to a comment made by Rep. Doug Sagers during the Tooele County Caucus girl’s testimony was coerced by a former meeting Thursday. Educators in the meeting stated their concerns about the SEE COUNTY PAGE A5 ➤ Tooele City Police Department detective SEE CONVICTION PAGE A7 ➤ education budget and proposed legislation from the current32 session.33 33 36 34 UTAH WEATHER 26 30 Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun Mon Logan BULLETIN BOARD A8 Grouse 46/25 Wendover PrecipitationAIR QUALITY (in inches) INSIDE Creek 54/33 Knolls Clive WEATHER Lake Point Tuesday CLASSIFIEDS B5 50/26 52/33 51/33 53/36 3.56 HOMETOWN B1 Ogden Stansbury Park Good 2.42 52/34 53/36 OBITUARIES A6 Erda 1.06 1.06 Class teaches not Churches prepare Vernal Grantsville 54/34 Pine Canyon Wednesday0.53 0.53 Salt Lake City 46/20 53/36 45/28 to fall for a jerk for Ash OPEN FORUM A4 Tooele 52/36 Bauer Good 52/33 Last Normal Month Normal Year Normal SPORTS A10 52/33 Tooele Week for week to date M-T-D to date Y-T-D See B1 Wednesday Provo Roosevelt 52/33 50/26 50/29 See Stockton SnowfallThursday (in inches) See A7 Price complete 52/33 52/28 Good 76.6 Nephi forecast Rush Valley 53/30 51/31 Ophir on A9 45/28 Source: www.airquality.utah.gov Delta Manti 57/34 52/29 2.0 2.0 Green River Last Month Season 61/31 Dugway Week to date to date Richfield Gold Hill 52/32 54/32 Moab 51/29 SNOWPACK Hanksville 59/33 Beaver 59/29 Vernon Tooele Valley-Vernon Creek Basin 56/28 Ibapah 50/30 54/29 Snow Water Equivalent as of 12 a.m. Monday Rocky Basin Mining Vernon Settlement Fork Creek Cedar City Blanding Snowcover 27.4 25.7 17.2 St. George 54/25 53/30 Average 22.5 16.3 10.8 69/42 Kanab 61/33 Eureka Percent of average 122% 158% 159% 50/29 Source: Utah Natural Resources Conservation Services A2 A2 TOOELE TRANSCRIPT-BULLETIN TUESDAY March 8, 2011 Reported child sex abuse cases decline County attorney’s office prosecuted almost 50 percent fewer cases in 2010 secret in the family that they think, by Lisa Christensen ‘If I take the abuse no one else will STAFF WRITER have to.’ And it’s not until we do the interviews that they realize Recorded rates of child sex abuse they didn’t stop this, there was still are down in Tooele County, continu- abuse.” ing a trend over the past two years. The decrease in interviews done According to statistics from the by the CJC comes after a period in Tooele County Children’s Justice the middle part of the decade in Center, 201 interviews with children which those interviews increased and families reporting sexual abuse significantly.