FRONT PAGE A1 www.tooeletranscript.com TUESDAY THS girls swim TOOELE team beats Clearfield, falls to RANSCRIPT Park City T Check out the features on our new Web site: See A10 BULLETIN tooeletranscript.com November 11, 2008 SERVING TOOELE COUNTY SINCE 1894 VOL. 115 NO. 051 50¢ Presidential race paints county in shades of red Grantsville and Vernon were John McCain strongholds; Barack Obama did best in older parts of Tooele by Tim Gillie first black president in the nation’s differing shades of red. (See map “People in Vernon tend to vote out of places they don’t belong, Democratic,” said Mike Anderson, STAFF WRITER history, Tooele County voters were on A12.) Republican in general,” said Mary like education, and should not take 71, and a lifelong Grantsville resi- throwing their support to McCain At one end of the spectrum, Durrant, 79, a lifelong Republican over public lands like they have in dent. “The Democratic party has John McCain may have fallen by a 2-to-1 margin. Vernon cast 79 percent of its bal- who lives in the town with her southern Utah.” moved to the left and has become far short in his bid for the White The county vote mirrored the lots for McCain. At the other end, husband Robert, 84. The Durrants Grantsville was the second big- so liberal it left most Grantsville House, but he won Tooele County statewide tally, with 63 percent vot- Ophir was the only area in the are active farmers along with the gest McCain stronghold with 72 people behind.” handily. ing for John McCain and 33 percent county that went for Obama, by a help of their sons. “We don’t like percent of the vote going to the West Erda, at 71 percent for As Barack Obama was riding voting for Obama. margin of 48 percent to 39 percent socialism, so it is no surprise that Republican candidate. McCain, was the only other an unprecedented wave of voter A look at individual precincts in — with 13 percent of the vote going we did not support Obama. The “All of Tooele County, includ- turnout en route to becoming the the county, however, shows widely to Ralph Nader. (See story on A2.) federal government should stay ing Grantsville, used to be SEE RACE ON A12 ➤ AGRICULTURE IN THE 21ST CENTURY Farmers, ranchers still have long political reach Many Tooele County leaders have ag industry ties despite an increasingly urbanized constituency by Sarah Miley And that’s just the current roster. Over STAFF WRITER the years, farmers and ranchers have exerted a political influence on the coun- Editor’s Note: This is the second in a ty that is increasingly disproportionate to three-part series on agriculture in Tooele the size of the local industry. County. This piece examines the industry’s Utah Farm Bureau Federation President political influence. Thursday’s article will Hogan said the intertwined roots of agri- examine the industry from a cultural per- culture and politics run deep in Utah. spective. Many areas around the state were settled There was a time when agriculture as places to either raise fruits and veg- was the lifeblood of Tooele County. As the etables, grains or cattle. decades have passed, however, the indus- “As those areas grew up, these agri- try has waned in terms of its economic culture people who were there became and cultural importance — but not neces- the political leaders as well,” Hogan said. sarily its political influence. “The reason Tooele was established is Despite the fact that few residents have because it was a ranching community. It ties to agriculture nowadays, ranchers grew out of that to be what it is today, but photography / Maegan Burr and farmers continue to be major politi- its basis was to raise cattle back when it cal players within the county. Two of the was originally settled.” Master Sgt. Gerald Evans sits in the family room of his Tooele home Friday afternoon. Evans returned home a few weeks ago from a 13-month tour to Iraq. county’s incoming state representatives Hogan said farmer-politicians play an — Jim Gowans in the House and Ralph important role in defending not just agri- Okerlund in the Senate — have worked culture but rural communities in general. in the ag industry. Gowans owns a ranch “It’s important agricultural people are in Vernon and Okerlund owned a dairy in the political system in order to help in Sevier County. A third representative, make some of those decisions for agri- Ronda Menlove in the House, grew up on a culture and for the way that government A warrior for all seasons farm. Sitting Tooele County Commissioner works within the state,” he said. “We talk Veterans Day allows soldier to reflect on a military career spanning 40 years Bruce Clegg has been involved in family about water and air and roads, transpor- farming and ranching, and commissioner tation, hospitals — all of those things Vietcong, and firing a machine gun feat he downplays, even as the remem- Jerry Hurst taught agriculture science and are things that rural communities need, by Jamie Belnap from the open door of a soaring mili- brance causes his eyes to get misty. was a Future Farmers of America advisor and those rural communities have been STAFF WRITER tary helicopter. But unlike most sol- “It definitely not something you do at Grantsville High School for 30 years. established because of agriculture.” diers of his generation, Evans can also for the money,” Evans, now a decorated Stockton resident Leland Hogan, a former Gowans, who won re-election to the For Tooele resident Gerald Evans, tell tales of being shot at in the current master sergeant, said. “You have to do it Tooele County commissioner, is the presi- House in District 21 last week, has been Veterans Day is packed with a lifetime war in Iraq. because you want to. It’s a job that has dent of the Utah Farm Bureau Federation, involved with agriculture off and on his of meaning. In between, he’s done a tour in to be done, and if no one volunteers to a powerful industry lobbyist on Capitol Evans began serving his country as Kuwait, a tour to Afghanistan, two do it then we are no better off than the Hill. SEE FARMERS ON A5 ➤ an Army combat soldier in Vietnam stateside tours where he helped sup- Iraqis and Vietnamese. If you look at it almost 40 years ago. He remembers ply troops in the Middle East, and two that way, you just stay with it.” nervously clutching a rifle in the rain tours in Iraq. as he combed through the jungle on These experiences add up to 26 years SEE WARRIOR ON A7 ➤ the lookout for booby traps and the of military service for Evans, 59, — a Valley’s busiest road has become safer SUN AND MOON SEVEN-DAY FORECAST FOR TOOELE UVStats INDEX show accidents The Sun Rise Set WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY sisted of a two-lane highway with a Wednesday 7:12 a.m. 5:14 p.m. turn lane only at intersections — saw Thursday 7:13 a.m. 5:13 p.m. are down since SR-36 Friday 7:15 a.m. 5:12 p.m. 132 accidents with two fatalities. In Saturday 7:16 a.m. 5:11 p.m. 2 2 road3 3 widening3 3 3 2005, when the bulk of the construc- Sunday 7:17 a.m. 5:11 p.m. tion work was done to widen the road Monday 7:18 a.m. 5:10 p.m. Wed Thu Fri Sat Sunby JamieMon TueBelnap to four lanes with a median and four Tuesday 7:19 a.m. 5:09 p.m. The higher the AccuWeather.com UV Index™ The Moon Rise Set number, the greater the need for eyeSTAFF and skin WRITER traffic lights were added, accidents Wednesday 4:32 p.m. 6:37 a.m. protection. 0-2 Low; 3-5 Moderate; 6-7 High; 8-10 stayed high at 128 with two fatalities. Thursday 5:18 p.m. 7:57 a.m. Very High; 11+ Extreme Friday 6:16 p.m. 9:14 a.m. Tooele Valley’s most-driven state In 2006, however, after construction Saturday 7:24 p.m. 10:22 a.m. ALMANACroad is safer than it was three years was largely complete, the number of Sunday 8:39 p.m. 11:19 a.m. Statistics for the week ending Nov. 10. Mostly cloudy with a ago, according to statistics from the accidents dipped dramatically to 73 Monday 9:56 p.m. 12:03 p.m. Cloudy Mostly sunny Partly sunny Partly sunny Partly sunny Sunny most of the day Temperatures Tuesday 11:10 p.m. 12:38 p.m. shower Utah Department of Transportation. with no fatalities reported. The num- High/Low past week 59/30 Full Last New First Normal high/lowDespite past week being the 54/32 location of the ber stayed low in 2007 as well, with 85 54 39 58 38 53 34 55 34 55 34 52 34 51 18 Average tempmajority past week of traffic 41.7accidents in the accidents and no fatalities. Normal averagecounty, temp past the week northern 42.7 section of SR- “Overall, by improving that trans- TOOELE COUNTY WEATHER Daily Temperatures High Low Nov 12 Nov 19 Nov 27 Dec 5 36 has had fewer accidents each year portation corridor it seems to have Shown is Wednesday’s photography / Maegan Burr since it was widened59 from two to four reduced the amount of accidents,” said Forecasts and graphics provided by weather.