Independent Audit Advises Tooele County to Tighten Its Internal Controls
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Grantsville Elementary students step back in time to learn history at Colonial Day Faire TOOELE See B1 TRANSCRIPT S T C BULLETIN S THURSDAY November 29, 2018 www.TooeleOnline.com Vol. 125 No. 52 $1.00 Independent audit advises Tooele County to tighten its internal controls County’s financial position deemed good, yet audit points out weaknesses in procedures and financial statements TIM GILLIE first time, according to Skeen. FRANCIE AUFDEMORTE/TTB PHOTO STAFF WRITER “That’s now booked,” he The Oquirrh Mountains are obscured by inversion and smog that settled over Tooele Valley during a previous winter. Wood and coal burning Tooele County ended the said. restrictions to help reduce pollution began on Nov. 1 and will continue until March 1. year in a good financial posi- The auditors also made tion, but a new independent adjustments to the 2016 state- auditor wants the county to ments based on the new rule change how it keeps records so the prior year’s statements Winter’s inversion usher in and prepares financial state- would be comparable to the ments to comply with account- 2017 statement, according to ing standards. Skeen. That’s what the 2017 inde- But more serious than the county wide burn restrictions pendent audit report said. change in accounting stan- Paul Skeen, audit partner dards were four material weak- with the Salt Lake office of nesses in accounting processes Eide Bailly accounting firm, disclosed by the audit, Skeen Wood and coal burning presented the audit findings said. restriction season and financial statements for A material weakness is a 2017 to the county commission deficiency, or a combination started Nov. 1 and during its Nov. 20 meeting at of deficiencies, in internal the Tooele County Building. control, such that there is a runs through March 1. This year’s audit report reasonable possibility that a Violators may get a fine was unique because a change material misstatement of the in Government Accounting entity’s financial statements of up to $299 Standards Board rules required will not be prevented, or other post employment ben- detected and corrected on a efits to be put on the financial TIM GILLIE statement as a liability for the SEE AUDIT PAGE A7 ® STAFF WRITER While it’s the season to get ready for Santa to come down your chimney, it’s also time to think about what is going up your chimney. Wood and coal burning restriction season in Utah start- ed Nov. 1 and runs through County health March 1, according to Utah Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Air Quality. will expand The DAQ issues action alerts with restrictions on wood and coal burning. The alerts also include recommendations efforts to curtail for vehicle use and industry actions to reduce emissions. The action alerts are based on particle pollution that opioid abuse builds up during inversions, according to the DAQ. Action alerts are issued and MARK WATSON She said the contract associ- FILE PHOTOS enforced by the DAQ. However, CORRESPONDENT ated with the grant is called Wood and coal burning stoves aren’t the only concern during heavy inversion periods. Motorists, like the Tooele County Health Tooele County will be part the Tooele County Health rush hour traffic at Lake Point (below) and on Tooele City Main Street (above), are urged by the state of a continuing statewide Department - Public Health to combine or lessen trips to reduce auto emissions. Industry is also asked to cut back on emissions SEE INVERSIONS PAGE A9 ® effort to confront the opioid Crisis Response - 2018 Opioid during peak inversion periods. abuse crisis. Crisis Cooperative. A recent study concluded Tooele County is being that the use of opioids and her- asked by the state to join in on oin in Tooele County remains efforts to improve the capacity a critical health crisis and the to rapidly respond to the opi- need to develop programs to oid overdose crisis by improv- battle the crisis is significant. ing data collection and provid- Amy Bate, public informa- ing prevention programs. Grantsville City reviews possible tion officer for the Tooele Bate said the state will County Health Department, implement an opioid dash- said the department received board online to provide county housing authority project a $35,000 grant to formulate updated information about the a plan to deal with the crisis. opioid situation throughout She said once the plan is for- the state to educate the public. STEVE HOWE certain criteria, such as credit scores Since the homes are constructed mulated, it will be shared with California is one state that uses STAFF WRITER and family size, according to DeAnn with tax credits, there is instant equity the public. an opioid overdose surveil- The Grantsville City Council dis- Christiansen, Tooele County Housing in the properties, which keep payments “Our responsibilities include lance dashboard to help it with cussed the concept for a Tooele County Authority executive director. low, Christiansen said. Part of the rent sending a team of three-to- its drug overdose prevention Housing Authority project on East Clark “They’ll be rent-to-own homes just payment each month goes to escrow, so eight individuals to attend program. Street during its meeting last week. like the ones on 316 E. Clark (Street) a renter for the full 15-year term would Utah Department of Health Also part of the grant money The project would create seven that we construct,” Christiansen said. have a substantial down payment, she training on opioid overdose will be used to bring together single-family lots in the area of 445 E. “Then the renters will live there for 15 said. preparedness,” Bate said. The community partners to develop Clark Street, on which homes would be years and then whoever lives there in “There’s just so many people first training class is set for built by the county housing authority the end of the 15-year rental period Dec. 11. SEE OPIOID PAGE A7 ® and rented to applications that meet gets first option to buy.” SEE PROJECT PAGE A7 ® INSIDE BULLETIN BOARD B7 CLASSIFIEDS B8 SHS Drama Cavender wins Stansbury boys HOMETOWN B1 goes disco pro MMA debut drop home OBITUARIES A8 with musical See A10 opener to Bears SPORTS A10 “Mamma Mia” See A10 See A3 A2 TOOELE TRANSCRIPT BULLETIN THURSDAY November 29, 2018 WEDNESDAY NIGHT WARM-UP Carla Lee (far left) takes a donut at the weekly dinner held at the United Methodist Church. Norma McFarland organizes, pre- pares, and help serve the meal. Volunteer August Delph (left) takes care of the dishes after the meal. Norma McFarland (below middle) is the last to eat after she helped serve around 30 people dinner. Lilian Chance (below right) cleans up. FRANCIE AUFDEMORTE/TTB PHOTOS Four charged in connection with drugs bust on I-80 STEVE HOWE A UHP trooper stopped a tan odor of marijuana coming from vehicle, the trooper discovered station and the occupants of found matching hand-held STAFF WRITER Nissan Infiniti for following too the vehicle, the statement said. a handheld radio and a green both vehicles were detained, radios to the one found in the A traffic stop by Utah closely and failure to signal for Pullen was identified as the plastic container and two the statement said. Perez and Infiniti. Highway Patrol troopers netted two seconds prior to changing driver of the vehicle and he told white plastic bags containing Eichenlaub were in the SUV In all, the truck contained a considerable amount of mari- lanes around 5 p.m. on Nov. 15, the trooper they were traveling marijuana, according to the and Harris was driving the 111 vacuum-sealed marijuana juana and charges against four according to a probable cause from Oregon to Kentucky. probable cause statement. The Avalanche. packages, 16 pounds of edibles out-of-state men. statement. At this time, the After the trooper had Pullen trooper questioned Pullen and In the silver SUV, troopers and 500 vape cartridges, the Christopher James Harris, trooper observed a Chevrolet step out of the vehicle and into a passenger in the vehicle about found three bottles of hash, one probable cause statement said. 39, of Kentucky; Christopher Avalanche and a silver SUV the back of his patrol car, he the involvement with the two jar of marijuana and a medicine Harris, Eichenlaub, Pullen Scott Eichenlaub, 29, of with a temporary permit out of questioned Pullen about the other vehicles after seeing the bottle with Eichenlaub’s name and Perez are scheduled to Florida; Dennis Richard Oregon, which appeared to be odor of marijuana, the state- radio and they said there was on it, the statement said. In make their initial appearance Pullen, 41, of Kentucky; and traveling with the Infiniti. ment said. Pullen admitted additional marijuana inside the the truck, troopers found two in 3rd District Court on Dec. Justin Israel Perez, 40, also of When the trooper made to there being a half ounce of vehicles. bags of edibles and three duffle 3 at 10:30 a.m. before Judge Kentucky, are each charged contact with the driver in the marijuana in the vehicle. UHP troopers caught up with bags filled with vacuum-sealed Matthew Bates. with second-degree felony use Infiniti, they began to smell the During a search of the the two SUVs at the Delle gas marijuana inside. Troopers also [email protected] or possession of a controlled substance and misdemeanor use or possession of drug para- phernalia. Tooele man sentenced for Idaho man charged TOOELETRANSCRIPT BULLETIN with rape to appear ADMINISTRATION sexual conduct with minor Scott C. Dunn Publisher STEVE HOWE ship between the 15-year-old Investigators met with Joel J.