Tooele Transcript Bulletin
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FRONT PAGE A1 www.tooeletranscript.com TUESDAY Tooele softball team beats Orem 10-0 in five innings See A10 TOOELETRANSCRIPT BULLETIN April 1, 2008 SERVING TOOELE COUNTY SINCE 1894 VOL. 114 NO. 91 50¢ Democrats in decline Party that once dominated the county now scurries to find candidates and new blood by Tim Gillie STAFF WRITER Tooele County was once a stronghold for the Democratic Party. From roughly 1940 through 1980, the party dominated the county’s state legislative races and held most county offices. “There was a time when you could count on Tooele County to elect good Democrats like Karl Swan, George Mantes and Ron Allen to the state Senate,” said Beverly White, former Tooele County Democratic Party chair and a former Democratic state represen- tative from Tooele. “The party was doing really well when the depot was open as government workers tend to be more Democratic.” Today, however, the local Democratic party appears to be a shadow of its former self. Poor attendance at last week’s neighborhood caucus meetings — held in five locations as opposed to Republicans’ 16 locations — was only one sign of the decline. Others include the inability to find a Democrat to run for the only photography / Troy Boman countywide office on the ballot in 2008, a county Traffic moves along I-80 Tuesday morning near the Tooele County line. Easy access to the Salt Lake Valley and lower home prices have contributed to the county’s commission seat, and the inability of any Democrat steady growth rate this decade. to unseat a Republican on the county commission for nearly eight years. Then there are the state legislative seats representing Tooele County — 6 of 8 of which are held by Republicans. The last Democrat to win election to a state seat Tooele County ranks No. 6 for representing Tooele county was Brent Goodfellow, from West Valley City, in 2006. He narrowly defeated political newcomer Christy Achziger of Stansbury Park by a 296 vote margin for the state Senate District population growth in Utah 12 seat. Jim Gowans is the lone state legislator from Tooele County representing the county. A lifelong Democrat, by Doug Radunich population of 54,375 up to 56,536. seventh-highest county popula- cent increase in population from Gowans has held his seat for 16 years. He is seen by STAFF WRITER That rate of increase made the tion increase in the state from 2000 to 2007, with the addition of fellow legislators as a conservative Democrat — so county the sixth fastest-growing July 2006 to July 2007, with a total 14,987 people. much so that in 2006, Jeff Hartley, executive director Despite a slowdown in its out of the state’s 29 counties. of 2,161 people moving in during Nicole Cline, Tooele County of the state Republican party, commented that some rate of growth in recent years, Over the same time period, that time period. economic development director, in the party had asked that Gowans not be targeted Tooele County remains one of Utah County was the state’s fast- The county’s growth has slowed said the comparatively low price by Republicans. the fastest growing counties in est growing county, with a growth down somewhat since the start of of land in the county is one rea- With Gowans standing alone as the last of the Utah, according to a study by rate of 5.5 percent. It was followed the decade, when the growth rate son why people continue to flock Democratic rear guard, some political observers the Utah Populations Estimates by Washington County with a rate was running at over 6 percent to the area. wonder where the next generation of party lead- Committee, a state entity that of 4.5 percent, Wasatch County annually. The county’s lowest- “We’ve held our good land val- ers will come from, particularly with demographics compiles official population sta- at 4.3 percent, and Summit and growth period of the decade was ues here better than most other apparently not working in Democrats’ favor. tistics. Morgan Counties at 4.2 percent between 2003 and 2004, when the places, and we haven’t seen the “We’ve had our downturns,” said Marianne The report showed that from each. rate was at only 2 percent. depreciation in land values that Rutishauser-Andrus, Tooele County Democrat Party July 1, 2006 to July 1, 2007, Tooele In terms of total population In terms of longer trends, County grew by 4 percent from a increases, Tooele County was the Tooele County posted a 36 per- SEE RANKS PAGE A6 ➤ SEE DEMOCRATS PAGE A12 ➤ Snowpack Icy road conditions levels good lead to I-80 pileup by Jamie Belnap ger car slid sideways in the STAFF WRITER middle of the road and was after storm broadsided by another car, A Salt Lake City man was sending both vehicles spin- by Sarah Miley flown to the University of ning. STAFF WRITER Utah Hospital Monday “As all of that is happen- morning with head injuries ing, I’m trying to jump over Last weekend’s precipitation coupled after a single-car rollover the guard rail to tell peo- with yesterday morning’s spring snow- turned into a six-car pileup ple to stay in their vehi- storm added to above-average snow- on I-80. cles when a UTA bus rolls packs in the Tooele Valley. According to Sgt. Robert through,” Breck said. According to the National Weather Breck of the Utah Highway As the UTA bus came to Service in Salt Lake City, precipitation Patrol’s Salt Lake sector, a a stop it was rear-ended totals from Saturday to Monday ranged Chevy S-10 pickup with two by a small car, which was from 3 inches of snow in Tooele to 1 to male occupants was travel- then rear-ended by a util- 2 inches in Grantsville and Stansbury ing westbound on I-80 near ity truck. The truck first hit Park. photography / Troy Boman milepost 102 — just past the the concrete barrier on the According to Randy Julander, snow Andrea Howsden plays basketball with her brother Scott, with the snow-covered Oquirrh Mountains SR-201 overpass — when left-hand side of the road, survey supervisor at the Salt Lake office in the background. Recent snowfall has brought the valley’s snowpack conditions to above-average the driver lost control of clipped the small compact of the Natural Resources Conservation levels. his vehicle due to icy road and then crashed into the Service, as of Monday, the Mining Fork roads, it was a welcome sign as the snow ing in the form of runoff, will arrive dur- conditions at 6:36 a.m. The bus. measuring station in the Stansbury accumulation season winds down. ing the months of April, May and June. vehicle rolled three times “There were six vehicles Mountains was 102 percent of average, “April 1 normally marks the time Although there currently isn’t any before ending up with the involved in three different Vernon Creek was 119 percent of aver- when snowpack is close to its peak,” major flood threat specifically coming driver’s side flush to the crashes,” Breck said, adding age and Rocky Basin in the Oquirrh Julander said. “At this particular point, from snowmelt, flooding is a possibility ground. that two other people were Mountains was 90 percent of normal. we start actually losing snow as snow- if there were a substantial rainstorm, he Not long after, another transported to the hospital “Right now, things look pretty good,” melt progresses. We expect over the next said. set of vehicles collided in by ambulance with minor he said. six weeks to melt the majority of snow- “Those snowpack numbers, although the exact same area in an injuries. While Monday morning’s storm pack.” attempt to avoid the first snarled traffic and created havoc on Most of the valley’s water supply, com- SEE LEVELS PAGE A6 ➤ crash. Breck said a passen- SEE ICY PAGE A6 ➤ INSIDE WEATHER OPEN FORUM A4 HOMETOWN B1 A chance of showers expected OBITUARIES A7 BULLETIN BOARD A8 Honored guests reminisce at through Thursday with highs in Old Folks Sociable the upper 40s to low 50s. TV LISTINGS B2 CLASSIFIEDS B3 See B1 Complete Forecast: A2 SPORTS A10 ANNOUNCEMENTS A9 A2 A2 TOOELE TRANSCRIPT-BULLETIN TUESDAY April 1, 2008 Correction Future community service center on hold In the story “High fuel prices pumping up busing costs for county schools” Old J.C. Penney on March 27, the school building still district’s fuel costs were inaccurately reported needs renovation based on incorrect infor- mation provided by the dis- by Doug Radunich trict. In August, the Tooele STAFF WRITER County School District paid $2.51 per gallon for Since buying the J.C. diesel or $1,792 per day. Penney building on Main Today they pay $3.52 per Street in September of last gallon or $2,513 per day. year, Tooele County officials That equals a 40 percent have outlined plans to turn increase in fuel costs. The the nearly 50-year-old build- Transcript-Bulletin apolo- ing into a community ser- gizes for the error. vice center. There’s only one problem. The building itself is in need of service — ren- Valley Weather Forecast ovations that have delayed several organizations from moving into their new digs. Local Weather Tooele County Commissioner Colleen Tue Johnson said a completion 46/34 date for the renovation work 4/1 has yet to be determined. Partly cloudy early followed by in- “We’re still working on get- creasing clouds with showers de- ting solid bids for the project, veloping l.