Utah News

Army officials recognized the work of employees at the Deseret Chemical Depot weapons storage facility in Tooele Thursday for their part in destroying the largest stockpile of chemical weapons in the United States.

Inventory Management Specialist Kent Shields is letting go of the petty frustrations that come with the day-to-day workweek grind and forging ahead: “It’s such a changing event in our lives. I’m old and I’m going to be able to retire but it’s just like a big door shutting and a chapter of a great book ending.”

Weber State University's Ogden campus, that "beacon on the hill," went dim today. Bad wiring is at fault, but help is on the way.

The Social Science, Student Services, and Visual Arts buildings will be operating on emergency power Thursday and Friday as extensive repair work with specialized equipment is underway.

Employees who work in those buildings should contact their supervisors, according to John Kowalewski, campus spokesman. He said that the campus will provide alternatives for students needing to pay bills or register for summer term with student services.

They call him the renewable energy guru. Andy Swapp is the technology teacher at Milford High School. He was recently recognized for his dedication to renewable energy by Utah Senator Orrin Hatch with a congressional tribute. Senator Hatch closed the tribute with the words, "Mr. President, I was really impressed with what I experienced in meeting Andy. I wanted to highlight the important, innovative work of a successful educator engaged in leading our nation into the future."

The Utah Department of Transportation employee who was wrongfully fired after being accused of leaking confidential information about a contract bid wants to be compensated for her time out of work and she wants her old position back. She is calling on Utah Governor Gary Herbert to help her reach an agreement with UDOT, but it’s doubtful he’ll be on board.

Former UDOT Civil Rights manager Denise Graham says what UDOT gave her after a judge determined her termination was unjust was a new position and essentially a gag order.

A controversial plan to connect Utah’s ski resorts is gaining support from local business leaders. A new coalition touts the economic and environmental benefits of joining resorts along the Wasatch Front and Back by a gondola, but the gathering spurred dozens to protest the meeting. 

Salt Lake Chamber President and CEO Lane Beattie announced the formation of the Lift Utah Coalition, which supports connecting Wasatch Mountain ski resorts:

Family members went to look for Mitchell Shaw of Riverdale when he failed to return from work. He was found dead at 2:00 Tuesday morning, crushed by a front-loader while working at Promontory Point.

Chief Deputy Kevin Potter of the Box Elder County sheriffs' office says Shaw was working by himself and operating  an older style front-end loader with hydraulic arms: "Apparently he had leaned out over to the side and those arms came down on him. whether the hydraulics failed or he accidentally bumped levers, he was crushed against the side of the cab and he was killed instantly."

The Arizona state transportation board has awarded an $11.5 million contract to repave a section of interstate highway that most Arizonans will never travel.

I-15 passes through just 29 miles of the extreme northwest corner of Arizona, cut off from the rest of the state by the Grand Canyon. But the rugged terrain and the frequent criss-crossing of the Virgin River made it the nation’s most expensive stretch of highway per mile to build.

33-year-old Matt Lewis of Ivins died Saturday after the non-motorized paraglider he was piloting crashed about 5 miles south of the Utah-Arizona line. Authorities from the Arizona Highway Patrol and Mohave County Search and Rescue responded to the remote crash scene using an AHP helicopter. The scene was not accessible by roads.