FRONT PAGE A1 www.tooeletranscript.com TUESDAY Family delivers livestock for Bit N’ Spur Rodeo TOOELE See B1 TRANSCRIPT BULLETIN July 8, 2008 SERVING TOOELE COUNTY SINCE 1894 VOL. 115 NO. 015 50¢ Justice courts consolidated Judge William Pitt given $30,000 raise to head up countywide system by Jamie Belnap the Tooele Valley Justice Court. STAFF WRITER “The county was faced with two possible options,” said Tooele The Tooele Valley Justice Court County Attorney Doug Hogan, has taken over administration of who was asked by the commission Wendover’s justice court in a move to look into the situation and pres- designed to consolidate operations ent them with the best possible under one judge. solution. “Either replace Judge With the recent retirement of Melville and keep two justice court Wendover Justice Court Judge judges on the payroll, or combine LaMar Melville, Tooele County them and have one judge serve the Commissioners elected to add the entire county.” Justice courts have small Wendover court into a newly the authority to deal with class B created Tooele County Justice and C misdemeanors, violations Court rather than appoint a new of ordinances, small claims, and judge in Wendover. The new court infractions committed within their will be headed by Judge William Pitt, who was serving as judge for SEE COURTS PAGE A5 ➤ photography / Maegan Burr Col. Yolanda Dennis-Lowman receives the depot flag from Commander Gen. James Rogers Tuesday morning at the Tooele Army Depot change-of-command ceremony. Dennis-Lowman will be stationed at TEAD for up to three years. New commander takes over depot by Jamie Belnap Davis, who headed the depot expected to lead the facility’s National War College. She STAFF WRITER for three years, was known approximately 520 employees comes to Tooele from Stuttgart, for her work on storage-space for up to three years. She is Germany, where she was chief The Tooele Army Depot sharing with Deseret Chemical formerly of Waco, Texas, and of the military’s International passed the installation’s colors Depot and helping improve began her military career 25 Cooperation Division, which on to its 34th commander, Col. the depot’s worker safety prac- years ago following her gradu- provides military assistance to Yolanda Dennis-Lowman, this tices. ation from Texas Christian foreign countries. morning at a formal change-of- “Col. Davis has had an out- University. She holds two mas- “Tooele Army Depot is lucky command ceremony. Dennis- standing command tour,” said ter’s degrees — one in adminis- to have someone of her cali- Lowman beamed as the depot’s Commander General James tration from Central Michigan ber,” Rogers said. outgoing commander, Col. Rogers at the ceremony. University and one in nation- Anne L. Davis welcomed her. Dennis-Lowman, 48, is al security strategy from the SEE DEPOT PAGE A6 ➤ photography / Troy Boman Judge William Pitt sits in his office with a drawing of John Wayne hanging on From Skull Valley to China: USU rangelands the wall. Judge Pitt will now also be serving as the judge for the newly created Tooele County Justice Court, which is a combination of the Tooele Valley and project could have wide-ranging benefits Wendover justice courts. by Sarah Miley project. STAFF WRITER Biosolids increase water retention in the soil, he said. When visiting Skull Valley near Local job market A rangelands improvement project pio- the Fourth of July last year, one of the test neered in Skull Valley may serve as an exam- plots was still green while the other plots and ple to the world after it was presented to surrounding area were dried out. He added a global conference in Inner Mongolia last they’re also looking at biosolids to decrease the remains strong week by Utah State University’s Tooele County chance for wildfires as well. Extension Director Linden Greenhalgh. As part of the project, Greenhalgh said Even with steady growth in positions available, Greenhalgh presented the project at the researchers are trying to determine if appli- most businesses report no shortage of workers weeklong conference of the International cation at higher rates would make it more Grasslands Congress and International economical to apply while still benefiting the by Doug Radunich 5.3 percent. Rangeland Congress in Hohhot, Inner soil, which would require approval from the STAFF WRITER Robson also said Tooele Mongolia, which is a region of China. DEQ and EPA. County’s job growth rate was The Skull Valley project is a joint venture He added the use of biosolids is beneficial to Tooele County remains a between 4 percent and 4.2 per- between Ensign Ranches, Utah State University, both the ranching community, as it improves robust job market with new cent from May 2007 to May various wastewater treatment facilities, the rangeland productivity, and to the treatment jobs being created at a rate that 2008. Utah Department of Environmental Quality facilities as it rids them of some of the waste. outpaces the state as a whole, “We’re much better than Salt and the Environmental Protection Agency. The Greenhalgh has been working on the Skull and more local residents look- Lake County and the rest of the project aims to determine what benefits bio- Valley project for one year, although the prac- ing for work closer to home. state in terms of job growth,” solids — waste taken from sewer treatment tice of using biosolids on rangelands has been Jim Robson, regional econo- he said. “Salt Lake County’s job plants — can have in rangeland cultivation used since 2004. He said initial tests have mist with the Utah Department growth was only 1.5 percent and ranching. Researchers have begun put- shown increases of as much as 660 pounds of Workforce Services, said from May 2007 to the end of ting biosolids on rangelands to increase forage per acre in forage productivity, compared with Tooele County’s unemploy- May this year, and the state productivity. 65 pounds per acre for a control plot. Protein ment rate has been running at rate over that time was at only “If it works, it could be used under similar increased from 10 percent in the control plot a low 3.6 percent over the past around 1.4 percent.” photography / Maegan Burr circumstances on any ranch or rangeland,” to as much as 20 percent in one of the treat- three months. He said that over Carlisle Syntec, a roofing Greenhalgh said, adding while at the confer- ments. the same time period, the state material manufacturer located Linden Greenhalgh recently returned from a trip to ence he met someone with the Bureau of Land average was at 3.2 percent, Mongolia for a conference on grasslands where he pre- Management who expressed interest in the SEE PROJECT PAGE A5 ➤ while the national average was SEE MARKET PAGE A6 ➤ sented a project that USU has been using in Skull Valley. OPEN FORUM A4 HOMETOWN B1 INSIDE OBITUARIES A6 BULLETIN BOARD A8 TV LISTINGS A7 CLASSIFIEDS B3 Tooele Cal Ripken Fourth of July a hit SPORTS A10 ANNOUNCEMENTS B2 baseball advances in among all ages state tourney See A12 WEATHER See A10 Sunny skies. Highs in the lower 90s. Complete Forecast: A9 A2 A2 TOOELE TRANSCRIPT-BULLETIN TUESDAY July 8, 2008 Tooele-Grantsville senior shuttle seeing ridership increase by Natalie Tripp The shuttle service runs circuit takes about an hour. STAFF WRITER on normal UTA hours, start- If the shuttle sees a con- ing at 5:30 a.m. until 7 p.m., tinued increase in ridership, With bus riders clamoring and has no set routes. It drives Dymock says UTA might add for more public transporta- back and forth between Tooele another van. tion services in Tooele Valley, and Grantsville dropping rid- “We would love to increase it may surprise many residents ers off where they need to be. our range as far as covering to learn there’s already a free Currently riders can call the other towns in the county,” shuttle service operating five driver’s cell phone to find out Dymock said. “But right now days a week between Tooele when and where he can pick we can’t stop outside of Tooele and Grantsville. them up. and Grantsville city limits.” The The Senior Shuttle service The route is confined to shuttle fare is $2 each way for was started four years ago Tooele and Grantsville city lim- regular passengers, and $1 for by Utah Transit Authority to its, and along SR-112, allowing seniors. transport senior citizens from riders to be dropped off at the The cell phone number for Grantsville to Tooele. However, Deseret Peak Complex. the morning shuttle that runs the 15-seat shuttle van is open “All they need to do is call from 5:30 a.m. until 2 p.m. is to all riders regardless of age. the driver and say, ‘I need a 830-0935. The number for the “We’ve recently seen an ride at such-and-such time,’” afternoon shuttle that runs increase in our ridership,” said said Butch Dymock, director from 2-7 p.m. is 830-2623. Cissy Morton, the morning of the Tooele County Division “People ought to know that driver of the service. “It comes of Aging and Adult Services. they can get to Tooele and and goes in spurts, but over the “And they’ll give them the next Grantsville this way,” Dymock last three years it’s definitely time they’ll be stopping in the said. “Seniors especially need been increasing. I was the only area.” to know that they can get to photography / Missy Thompson driver for the first three years The shuttle makes around other areas besides their home- and we had to add a second seven trips a day between town.” Driver Cissy Morton (center) stands with two passengers of the UTA senior shuttle, Ron Adams, 39 (left), and Mark Hermel, driver last September.” Tooele and Grantsville.