FRONT PAGE A1 www.tooeletranscript.com TUESDAY TOOELETRANSCRIPT Tooele rallies for come-from- behind victory See A10 BULLETIN July 3, 2007 SERVING TOOELE COUNTY SINCE 1894 VOL. 114 NO. 012 50¢ Head of 4-H program arrested for molestation Educator allegedly confessed to long history of sexually abusing young boys over several years by Suzanne Ashe past seven months. last Wednesday night for a other boys reported the same fluent in Spanish. STAFF WRITER According to a probable sleepover. On Thursday, one thing had happened to them on The boys were interviewed Curtis Crittenden, 32, the cause statement filed by the of the boys reportedly told his different occasions when they at the Children’s Justice Center head of the 4-H program for Tooele County Attorney’s soccer coach that Crittenden had slept over at Crittenden’s on Friday morning, according Tooele County, was arrested office on Monday, two 12-year- had come into the room where home in the past. to Tooele City Police Lt. Paul Friday afternoon for allegedly old boys and two 14-year-old the boys were sleeping and All four of the boys were Wimmer. Each boy reported molesting four young boys, all boys said Crittenden had invit- touched the boy’s genitalia, Spanish-speaking students Curtis Crittenden 4-H club members, over the ed them to his house in Tooele waking him up. The three from Wendover. Crittenden is SEE ABUSE PAGE A3 Study says Planners promise big poverty on Fourth of July the rise celebrations by Joshua Figueira by Mark Watson STAFF WRITER STAFF WRITER One in 10 children in Grantsville will host a one- Tooele County are living in day mega celebration for the poverty, according to a study Fourth of July on Wednesday, released last week by the Utah while Tooele plans to spread its Community Action Partnership celebration over the better part Association. of the week. According to the study, there “We’re doing some new things were 1,358 children in Tooele this year with karaoke at the County living at or below park on Thursday, a Family the federally-defined poverty Movie in the Park on Friday threshold in 2000. In 2006, that night, and a “Hot as Hades” rop- number climbed 19 percent to ing competition in the morning 1,618 — a full 10 percent of all on Saturday at the Tooele City children in the county. Rodeo Grounds — along with “It’s alarming,” said UCAPA all the other regular events,” analyst Shawn Teigen. “There said Kathy Harris of the Tooele are children out there suffer- City Parks and Recreation ing, going hungry, even home- Department. less. The problem is getting The Tooele festivities con- worse, not better.” clude on Saturday with a Ty The spike in the county- Herndon concert at 7 p.m. at the wide child poverty rate comes Tooele High School Auditorium. amid dipping unemployment Grantsville is advertising its and strong economic growth. photography / Troy Boman one-day bash as the biggest The study reports the county Belinda Hewitt, Jeffrey Martinez and Tristan Martinez prepare for a day of fishing at the Settlement Canyon Reservoir Monday. The water level has Tooele County event of the unemployment rate fell to a dropped 10 feet in three weeks. 2006 average of 3.2 percent, SEE CELEBRATION PAGE A7 down from 3.7 percent in 2000. The median income in Tooele County rose to $52,718 Dry spell, dropping reservoir levels prompt over the same time period, up Light pollution more than 15 percent from 2000 levels. water conservation alert for Tooele Valley obscuring view Teigen said the notion that by Mark Watson Bevan. water users are expected to water no poverty is on the rise while STAFF WRITER From October 2006 through June more than eight hours per week. No unemployment is down and for star gazers 2007, Tooele received 12.23 inches watering is allowed on weekends. overall salaries are up may Irrigation leaders in Tooele County by Alleen Lang are again urging users to conserve of rain. Normal for the year is 18.49 Settlement Canyon Reservoir seem counter-intuitive to CORRESPONDENT water after an extremely dry three inches. dropped nearly 10 feet the past three some, but there’s a simple The stars over Tooele County months. The drought has prompted water weeks after gaining a foot of water explanation: Median income are not growing dimmer, but some Tooele City normally receives 5.51 restrictions from Grantsville and June 6 and 7 — the only days of pre- rises because the top wage advocates of dark skies fear growth inches of rain April through June, Settlement Canyon irrigation compa- cipitation during the month. earners continue to get salary may make it more difficult to view but only 1.99 inches fell during those nies. Those with meters in Grantsville “During the drought years, we increases, while the majority celestial events in populated areas three months this year. Unless July can use up to 250,000 gallons this learned to conserve, but now we’re of Americans’ wages remain of the county. through September is filled with thun- year and no more. back to the dry pattern again and peo- fairly stagnant. “Poor light fixtures mess up the derstorms, Tooele Valley will experi- Settlement Canyon Irrigation ple need to learn to conserve again,” As for unemployment rates, sky and mess up pocket books,” said ence its driest water year since 2003. Company’s board of directors set said Settlement Canyon Irrigation said Teigen, more jobs doesn’t Patrick Wiggins, of Stansbury Park, a Tooele City is six inches below nor- new regulations last week. Farms are President Gary Bevan. “There is a necessarily mean better jobs. NASA ambassador to Utah and Clark mal in annual precipitation, accord- allowed to water a total of 24 hours “The new jobs that are low- Planetarium outreach. ing to local weather recorder Ned in a three-week period. Residential SEE WATER PAGE A4 Wiggins has been observing the skies over Stansbury Park for years SEE POVERTY PAGE A3 from the Stansbury Park Observatory Complex (SPOC), and over time he has seen light pollution creeping into Brush fire near landfill the skies. Stansbury Park was selected as the site for the observatory in the scorches across 300 acres 1970s, Wiggins said. by Sarah Miley some parts of the fire. The high population center of STAFF WRITER “They had to go through the the Salt Lake Valley was ruled out A fire that started around security gate,” Arnold said. “It because of light pollution, and the 10 a.m. near Bauer on Friday wasn’t necessarily a problem, dark skies of Skull Valley were con- burned approximately 300 it was just time-consuming.” sidered too far from population cen- acres of grass, weeds and The State of Utah, the BLM, ters to be a practical location. sagebrush before it was extin- Stockton Fire Department, Stansbury Park proved to be a guished by firefighters from Tooele City Fire Department, good compromise site, Wiggins said, several departments. North Tooele County Fire noting “we consider ourselves pretty Stockton Fire Department Department, Tooele Army lucky,” to have the Stansbury Park Fire Chief Don West said Depot, Tooele County Sheriff’s Observatory Complex (SPOC). the cause of the fire is still Office and the Utah Highway But the compromise has come under investigation, but that Patrol all responded to the with some challenges. As more peo- it may have been caused by fire. ple settle into Stansbury Park they humans. Initially, employees from bring light with them. “It’s a numbers game,” said Nicole The fire was completely Geneva Rock and the Tooele Cline, Tooele County Planning and contained at 6 p.m. that same County Landfill also assisted Economic Development adviser. day, said Roice Arnold, Tooele with the fire, using a water “The more people you have the County fire warden. truck and heavy equipment to more reflective glare you are going The fire also spread to mili- attempt to douse the flames. tary land on the Tooele Army No structures were threat- photography / Maegan Burr Depot, increasing the time ened or damaged. SEE POLLUTION PAGE A7 A North Tooele Firefighter and a Stockton volunteer firefighter watch the fence line of the Tooele Army Depot, it took firefighters to get to [email protected] a brush fire which started near the road to the Tooele City Dump spread past the Depot fence line. WEATHER OPEN FORUM A6 HOMETOWN B1 INSIDE Hot and sunny with highs OBITUARIES A8 BULLETIN BOARD B2 Former district superintendent in the mid 90s. TV LISTINGS B4 CLASSIFIEDS B5 talks about future of education Complete Forecast: A2 See B1 SPORTS A10 A2 A2 TOOELE TRANSCRIPT-BULLETIN TUESDAY July 3, 2007 Utah & The West Valley Weather Forecast Mormon tourists travel to prominent sites of faith Local Weather by Chris Hawley THE ARIZONA REPUBLIC Tue PHOENIX (AP) — In a corner 96/66 of ancient ruins, not far from the 7/3 towering Pyramid of the Sun, Mainly sunny. Highs in the mid 90s a small group of Mormons sat and lows in the mid 60s. among the milling tourists in Teotihuacan, Mexico, and gazed across what they believe to be their holy land. “This is just what it says in Wed 98/67 the Book of Mormon about the 7/4 Jaredites,” Bill Welsh of Provo, said excitedly as an archae- Abundant sunshine. Highs in the ologist described how inter- upper 90s and lows in the upper nal strife sped the downfall of 60s. Teotihuacan. For the world’s 13 million Mormons, the ruins of Mexico and Central America are hal- lowed ground, a place where Thu 101/69 Old Testament tribes settled 7/5 after traveling across the ocean and where Jesus came to preach Abundant sunshine.