www.tooeletranscript.com TUESDAY TOOELE See Joseph’s amazing TRANSCRIPT dreamcoat this weekend at THS See B1 BULLETIN February 20, 2007 SERVING TOOELE COUNTY SINCE 1894 VOL. 113 NO. 78 50¢ Home sales CHASE IN THE DESERT take January plunge Westbound speeder TOOELE by Mark Watson WENDOVER leaves I-80 STAFF WRITER Argonite Local home sales dropped off for the month of January after a nine-month run of consistently high sales volume during 2006. Knolls According to statistics Picked up at obtained from Prudential Real mile marker 33 Clive Estate in Tooele, total January Crashes through gate home sales in the county lev- eled off at about $14.4 million compared to totals that hovered around $20 million per month for the last nine quarters of 2006. The January total is well below the $24.5 million in sales set in EnergySolutions June of last year. Abandons car and Facility “We’ve received a bit of a breather during the first quar- proceeds on foot N ter of this year,” said Michelle Warner, president of the Tooele graph by John Hamilton County Board of Realtors. “People still perceive Tooele County as a great value for home buying. Prices for land Speeder leads police on wild chase along the Wasatch Front are so expensive. The extremely high cost of land and the reduced availability of land along the Wasatch Front are motivating through radioactive disposal facility more builders and developers to look to Tooele Valley. The result Driver ditched car to flee on foot into desert, called police two days later to rescue him has been a very brisk market by Suzanne Ashe off at the Clive exit. The vehicle sped an hour and a half, according to Rapich. EnergySolutions is not planning to for us.” STAFF WRITER toward the EnergySolutions facility where After being in areas containing low-level change the way the facility is fenced, Home sales skyrocketed dur- A 37-year-old Salt Lake City man is it tore through several chain-link fences radioactive waste, all of the officers at the according to Walker. ing 2006 with homes on the mar- in custody after leading Utah Highway and entered a low-level radioactive waste scene were screened for possible contami- “This was just the result of a car chase,” disposal cell, Rapich said. nation. he said. SEE HOME ON A3 Patrol troopers on a wild high-speed chase early Saturday morning. The chase During the chase on EnergySolutions “Two officers and the passenger who After police investigators left began on Interstate 80, continued into property, the driver tried to ram a highway were all in the controlled area had to go EnergySolutions, they assumed the sus- EnergySolutions’ low-level radioactive patrol car. And at one point, troopers lost through a screening process, but there was pect had escaped back to the highway. No quick fix waste disposal facility, and ended late sight of the Mercedes. When they found the no contamination found on any of them,” Then, at approximately 11 p.m. Sunday Sunday night near milepost 33, when the car, it was in a ravine in a contained area of Rapich said. evening — roughly 44 hours after the chase for dangerous man called police to rescue him after two the facility. “We appreciate the efforts of the UHP began — the investigation took an unex- days spent wandering in the desert. The driver had fled on foot. in handling this matter,” said Mark Walker, pected twist when Tooele 911 dispatchers According to UHP Lt. Mike Rapich, the A passenger who was in the car surren- spokesman for EnergySolutions. “As a received a distress call from the driver of junction pursuit began after a DUI blitz along I-80, dered to troopers, Rapich said. result of their efforts, and the efforts of the Mercedes. by Karen Hunt where extra troopers were brought in to Several troopers, with assistance from the EnergySolutions’ team, the matter was He was lost in the desert and needed STAFF WRITER help net three arrests. At about 3 a.m. on EnergySolutions security guards and Tooele resolved quickly and with no problems at medical attention. It appears the notoriously dan- Saturday morning, Trooper Andy Prescott County Sheriff’s deputies, searched the sur- the facility.” After another lengthy search, officers gerous intersection at SR-112 spotted a gold 2000 Mercedes traveling rounding desert for hours but could find no Walker added that although the suspect’s located James Wallingford, a Salt Lake City and Durfee Street in Grantsville west on I-80 at speeds in excess of 120 mph. sign of the driver. Troopers brought in their vehicle crashed through outer perimeter Prescott pursued the vehicle until it turned new canine officer, Jekyll, and used a heli- fences, it did not get close to any struc- will get realigned — but not this SEE SPEEDER ON A3 year. copter to search for the suspect for about tures. Grantsville City Councilman Wayne Butler met with Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) last Thursday to dis- cuss ways to reduce accidents Two local cops among at the intersection. After discus- sion, Butler said it was decided Grantsville would rather have Trolley Square heroes UDOT wait one more year and do the project right. Pair played vital role in stopping The intersection in question has no left-turn lane and visibil- gunman’s deadly rampage ity is restricted by a tight curve by Mark Watson Legislature last week for stop- in SR-112. “It’s on the top of our STAFF WRITER ping gunman Sulejman Talovic priority list,” Butler said. For a police officer, just doing and saving the lives of many While Butler said he’d like the your job can sometimes mean people. The Tooele County pair, project done sooner, he mainly going to exceptional lengths. however, almost shudder when wants it done right. According That was proven by two Salt they hear the word “heroes.” to him, that could mean com- Lake City officers — both of “I think what I would like peo- pletely re-engineering the inter- whom make their homes in ple to understand is that there section, not just fixing the road Tooele County — during last were a ton of officers rushing shoulders — a project slated for week’s Trolley Square shoot- in there,” said the 34-year-old this summer. photo courtesy of Tooele County Sheriff’s Department ings. Oblad. “I think they would have Jason Davis, UDOT’s depu- The body of an unidentified man was found in this charred SUV near Delle on Sunday morning. Another Erda’s Andy Oblad and done the same thing I did. We ty director for region 2, said man remains in a coma after being found about 50 feet away in the sage brush. Stansbury Park’s Brett Olsen, were all closing in on the same approximately $2 million is who both work for the Salt Lake location.” already there for improving the City Police Department, were Olsen offered a similar expla- road shoulders. However, by two of the first five officers nation about the horrific shoot- holding off on the project until One dead, one badly burned to arrive on the scene Feb. 12 ing spree that claimed six lives. the following year, engineers during the mall massacre. Both could add in two related proj- were honored by the Utah State SEE HEROES ON A5 ects at the same time — making after car fire near Delle the intersection a “T” with 90- degree angles and adding a turn Victims’ wounds, fire starter lead sheriff to homicide investigation lane. The projects would have by Suzanne Ashe or gunshot wound.“We think there was an accelerant an additional price tag of at least STAFF WRITER [fire starter] used, but we are waiting for the state $4 million, but could be less Sheriff’s detectives are investigating a strange fire marshal’s report,” Sheriff Frank Park said. expensive done together. and possibly sinister case regarding a car fire in The unidentified man was flown to a hospital in Butler said the only way the desert near Delle that left one man dead and Salt Lake where he underwent surgery. The man the project would be pushed another critically injured Sunday morning, according remains in a comma. through sooner is if Rep. Ronda to Tooele County Sheriff’s deputies. “We’re hoping he wakes up soon so we can inter- Menlove obtained the funding. The incident occurred at 6:40 a.m. Sunday north of view him,” said Tooele County Sheriff Detective Ron Menlove attended Grantsville’s I-80 near Delle. Deputies found a 24-year-old Hispanic Johnson. last city council meeting and man in the sage brush about 50 feet from a charred The body of another unidentified man was found expressed her support for a late-model SUV. He had suffered burns over more timely solution on the intersec- than 50 percent of his body. He also had a wound to his neck. Detectives did not say whether it was a stab SEE DELLE ON A3 photos courtesy of Salt Lake City police SEE JUNCTION ON A5 Andy Oblad (left) and Brett Olsen (right) INSIDE WEATHER OPEN FORUM A4 THE BULLETIN BOARD B2 Morning rain and OBITUARIES A6 TV LISTINGS B3 Buff hoopsters just miss playoff snow showers possible SPORTS A8 CLASSIFIEDS B4 upset, fall 56-52 on Wednesday. See A8 Complete Forecast: A2 HOMETOWN B1 CROSSWORD B8 A2 TOOELE TRANSCRIPT-BULLETIN TUESDAY February 20, 2007 Utah & The West Corrections The “Babe Ruth sign-ups” brief in the sports wrap section on Feb. 15 Six dead after incorrectly stated that players (ages 5 to 12) were encouraged to regis- ter with the newly formed Stansbury Park league.