Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Practice News Story 4: Crime

10:05 a.m. MT
Posted: September 26, 2007
“Two Arrested in Local Church Break-In”
Logan, UT- Two local residents were brought to trial today in the preliminary hearing of a break- in that occurred on September 19, 2007. 35 year old James Michaels and an undisclosed minor are being charged with two misdemeanor counts of breaking and entering and vandalism, along with one felony charge of burglary. Their defense attorney Mr. Robbie Cochran said that “our client is innocent of these charges” and he "believes the charges will be dropped."
As we reported last week on September 19th, there was a break-in at a local LDS meeting house and two CPU's were taken. Sheriff Deputy Geoffrey Hasty received several tips from people who had heard about the break-in that lead them to their arrest of the two accused. Evidence was also brought forth using fingerprints and a K-9 unit. Both suspects have been released on bail.
The trial will begin on October 21st.

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Practice News Story 3: Crime

When Bob Knotz showed up to work early Wednesday morning, the last thing on his mind was calling the cops, but that’s exactly what he had to do. Mr. Knotz showed up to replace tiles at a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints meetinghouse at 1600 East 900 North in Logan, and immediately saw two broken monitors laying on the ground. Combined with the unlocked doors, he called the police.

Logan City Sheriff Deputy Geoffrey Hasty was there at the crime scene. Early reports seem to indicate that a window was left open in one of the offices and that was how one of the perpetrators entered the building. They then let in their accomplices thru the door. Once inside they took two computers out of the offices and broke two monitors. The last person to leave the night before was Bishop Lawrence Shark and it was his office where they gained entry to the building. He apparently opened the window so he could hear the rain outside and forgot to close it upon leaving the building. He responded that he was “Glad that nobody was in the building in the middle of the night” and it “could have been a lot worse.”

Two “people of interest” have been brought in for questioning. Fingerprints were found at the crime scene and a K-9 unit immediately picked up some scents after they were brought in. Sheriff Deputy Hasty assumed that this incident was “simple vandalism” since there didn’t seem to be much planning of the crime. Local neighbor Evelyn Breathwaite seems to agree quoting that “this is out of the ordinary” and saying “I’ve never felt unsafe.”

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

Practice News Story 2: Fire

Yesterday afternoon between 2 and 3 p.m., a fire broke out in a building on Washington Boulevard and 21st Street in Ogden. The building, owned by local businesswoman Rachael Calhoun, housed a local restaurant called Pedro’s Mexican Restaurant. The owner, Pedro Sanchez, and his brother and his two nieces lived upstairs above the restaurant. There were no deaths involved and only minor burn and smoke ventilation injuries.

Ogden City Department Fire Chief Greg Chamberlain was on the scene and declared the building a “total loss.” The fire began in the downstairs kitchen of the restaurant when some grease got caught on fire. The owner wasn’t able to put out the fire with a fire extinguisher and the fire spread. He only suffered minor burns on his arms. The only customer in the restaurant called in the fire. Fire Marshal said they were “Just glad we got everybody out” and declared his teams fire fighting skills a “Success.” “That’s how we like to do things.”

At the time of the fire in the apartment above the restaurant, were Pedro’s brother Miguel Sanchez and his 2 and 4-year-old daughters. He could here his brother yelling “Fire, fire!” downstairs so he immediately grabbed his daughters and vacated the building. The owner remarked that there were “People upstairs that needed my help, but I couldn’t get to them.”

The owner of the building thinks that the building should be rebuilt soon and Pedro’s will be back for more all his various fans. She said that “I’m glad nobody got hurt.”

Wednesday, September 5, 2007

Practice News Story 1: Accident

Yesterday afternoon around 4 P.M. a Utah State University van carrying 11 passengers rolled over on Interstate 84 just west of Tremonton, Utah. The single van was on its way back from a school field trip during USU’s annual Ag Week. Eight of the passengers, including the teacher Mr. Evan Parker, died at the scene or were pronounced dead by the time they reached the hospitals. Two Life Flight helicopters were dispatched with two of the remaining survivors to Ogden Regional Hospital. The other survivor was rushed to Brigham City Community Hospital. All of the survivors are in critical condition at this time.

Not much is known about what happened with the crash of the van. Kyle Holden, who was with the group on the field trip, but in a separate vehicle, was just passing when the van swerved out of control. A large amount of smoke supposedly came from the back of the van just before the van started swerving back and forth and then rolled three to four times before sliding off the side of the road. All occupants were thrown out of the van.

Lt. Jason Jensen of the Utah Highway Patrol was the first officer to respond and was only approximately a half mile away when the crash occurred. His preliminary reports seem to indicate the vehicle was traveling approximately 95 miles per hour, but we’ll have to wait for a federal investigation to take place before they know for sure. He stated that “All personnel were ejected” and that there seemed to be “No evidence of seatbelt usage.”

Utah State University President Stan L. Albrecht gave a press conference stating that this was a “Great tragedy” and that there would be a later announcement concerning any memorials or special services to be held for the deceased. The families involved with the accident are still being notified and a list of the deceased and injured will be released at a later date and time out of respect for the deceased. All 11 occupants were male and in the AgSystems major and this was on official university field trip.

All possible scenarios are trying to be worked on to find out just what exactly occurred with the wreck. But until the federal investigation is completed there are only thoughts and ideas on just what could have happened. Mr. Evan Parker had told Kyle Holden just recently that this was “A good group of students; one of the best that he’d ever had.” Our thoughts and prayers go out to all those who lost someone they loved.