BYU guard TJ Haws (30) goes up to basket while defended by Pepperdine guard Sedrick Altman (0) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, Feb. 29, 2020, in Malibu, Calif. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu) | AP
The 17th-ranked BYU Cougars finished their regular season Saturday with a dominant second half to beat the Pepperdine Waves 81-64 on the road.
Here are three takeaways from the game.
Down 35-32 at halftime, the Cougars outscored the Waves 49-29 in the second half. Down 40-35 early in the second half, BYU went on an 11-3 run to take the lead and never relinquished it. Over the final 10 minutes, the Cougars outscored the Waves 27-14.
Yoeli Childs was dominant throughout and finished with a career-high 38 points and added 14 rebounds and a steal. Pepperdine’s Kessler Edwards had 18 points through just over 14 minutes, but scored just six more the rest of the way.
BYU shot 53 percent from the field while the Waves shot just 39 percent.
BYU guard TJ Haws (30) goes up to basket while defended by Pepperdine guard Sedrick Altman (0) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, Feb. 29, 2020, in Malibu, Calif. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu) | AP
The 17th-ranked BYU Cougars finished their regular season Saturday with a dominant second half to beat the Pepperdine Waves 81-64 on the road.
Here are three takeaways from the game.
Down 35-32 at halftime, the Cougars outscored the Waves 49-29 in the second half. Down 40-35 early in the second half, BYU went on an 11-3 run to take the lead and never relinquished it. Over the final 10 minutes, the Cougars outscored the Waves 27-14.
Yoeli Childs was dominant throughout and finished with a career-high 38 points and added 14 rebounds and a steal. Pepperdine’s Kessler Edwards had 18 points through just over 14 minutes, but scored just six more the rest of the way.
BYU shot 53 percent from the field while the Waves shot just 39 percent.
Dixie celebrates after winning the 4A boys basketball championship title at the Dee Events Center in Ogden on Saturday, Feb. 29, 2020. | Ivy Ceballo, Deseret News
OGDEN — Picture the ideal state championship game in your mind — what does it look like?
It is probably a back-and-forth affair, with no large leads or crazy runs, just two teams as evenly matched as they come, trading blow after blow. There are likely some clutch plays made down the stretch on both sides with unheralded players and stars alike making their presence felt in the most important game of their lives. The stands are of course filled with rabid fans — for better or for worse — and every single possession feels like the fate of the world hangs in the balance.
The thing is, those championship games rarely happen. More often than not, the title game is a blowout where one team is just better than the other. That is part of the reason those barnburners are so special.
Saturday afternoon at the Dee Events Center at Weber State University, the Dixie Flyers and Sky View Bobcats battled for the 4A state championship, and it was something special.
For 32 minutes, the Flyers and Bobcats were as evenly matched teams as you could find. Dixie’s largest lead was just seven, an advantage that disappeared almost as soon as it was created. Sky View led by as many as four, and the teams swapped leads 13 times and tied 11 times.
Sky View star Mason Falslev proved nearly unstoppable, and finished with a game-high 22 points, while Dixie stars Isaac Finlinson and Noah Lemke each scored 17 points. Then there were the lesser known players, like Dixie’s Andy Rich or Sky View’s Taydem Neal, who made play after play with the game in the balance.
It was the type of the game that you didn’t want to end, but there had to be a victor, and after a 3-point attempt by Sky View’s Sam Phipps fell harmlessly to the floor as the final buzzer sounded, that winner was Dixie.
The Flyers defeated Sky View 62-59 to win the school’s first state title since 2016. The victory capped off a nearly flawless season and felt like something out of a storybook or ESPN 30-for-30 special.
“It was probably the funnest game I’ve ever played in,” Rich said. “Sky View is a great, great team and so we knew it would be competitive. We just wanted to come in and fight hard and that is what we did. This is the stuff you dream of. It is just awesome to get it done, to come away with it.”
Dixie head coach Tyler Roberts was practically incredulous afterward, saying, “Of course you dream about it. I played for it my senior year and lost against Lehi. To get back here and have that opportunity to win a state championship and bring one home to Dixie High School is really amazing right now.”
The victory validated a season’s worth of hard work, if not more, as the Flyers were eliminated by the Bobcats in last year’s state tournament, a loss they never quite forgot.
“You can’t put it into words,” Dixie senior Jordan Matthews said. “It is crazy. All the hard work, all the long practices, you just can’t put it into words.”
Both teams had to endure and overcome all manner of challenges throughout the game. Falslev missed large chunks of time with foul trouble, and then fouled out with four minutes to go. Dixie’s Ethan Bennett also fouled out, to say nothing of missed free throws — the teams combined to miss seven in the final two minutes — and missed opportunities.
The game’s defining play came with 10 seconds remaining. Dixie led 61-59, but Sky View had possession of the ball just above the 3-point line. The Bobcats moved the ball well enough as they hunted for what they surely thought would be the game-deciding shot, but Rich jumped a passing lane and stole the ball from Titan Saxton. It was a fitting play for the top-ranked defense in the classification, and in the end the game-winning play.
“Sky View is a really good team. They are really good at getting into the paint and have shooters, so you just have to go stick to the game plan and try to get it done,” Rich said.
That is the thing about this Dixie team. All year long they’ve done whatever it took to get it done, and now they are state champs.
“For our guys to do what we did, it took an absolute buy-in of the team,” Roberts said. “We came together as a family. It is called the Fly Fam. That is who we are, and it is a bunch of individuals coming together for a team, for a family. That is what we preached all year and that is what they did.”
SALT LAKE CITY — The former police chief of Mantua, Box Elder County, who was arrested twice in February on drug- and alcohol-related offenses, was formally charged in his prescription drug case on Thursday.
Shane Jacob Zilles, 50, of Wellsville, was charged in 1st District Court with five counts of falsifying, altering or forging prescription drugs, a class A misdemeanor.
The case was investigated by the Cache-Rich Drug Task Force. The investigation began in January when task force agents were notified that Zilles had altered the date on his prescription to receive medication four days earlier than he was supposed to, according to a search warrant affidavit filed earlier this month in 1st District Court.
“Your affiant observed several indicators on the prescription which was turned into (the) pharmacy, which indicated it may be a forged prescription. The ink on the signature had several symmetrical lines through it, no bleeding or smearing of the ink, and had no impressions which would normally be observed with a hand-signed signature. The microprint signature line on the prescription turned in by Shane was also illegible,” the task force agent wrote in the warrant.
According to court records, investigators discovered at least five forged prescriptions dating back to Nov. 2, 2019. He was arrested in the prescription forgery investigation on Feb. 14.
The arrest came just a week after Zilles was arrested on Feb. 6 for investigation of DUI. According to court records, he was arrested at 5:36 p.m. near Lincoln Elementary School, 90 S. Center, in Hyrum. On Feb. 21, he was formally charged in Hyrum Justice Court with DUI, a class B misdemeanor, and driving on a suspended license, a class C misdemeanor.
He is scheduled to be arraigned in that case on Tuesday, according to court records.
Zilles was also arrested Aug. 12, in Logan for suspicion of driving under the influence and was later charged with DUI, a class B misdemeanor, in Logan Justice Court. A trial in that case is scheduled for March 20.
All of these charges and arrests come on the heels of the former police chief pleading guilty to impaired driving in 2019 after Utah Highway Patrol troopers stopped Zilles, who was still police chief, driving recklessly near the mouth of Sardine Canyon while in his police patrol car.
Zilles was fired as chief of the small Utah town shortly after his arrest.
KANARRAVILLE, Iron County — Iron County Sheriff’s deputies are investigating the discovery of a body in a field north of Kanarraville.
Deputies were dispatched to area just after 1 p.m. Saturday. The unidentified victim appears to be a man in his early 20s, according to a prepared statement from the sheriff’s office. Cold weather is believed to be a contributing factor in his death, the sheriff’s office stated.
The body was sent to the Utah State Medical Examiner’s Office to determine a cause of death and confirm the man’s identity.
No additional information was immediately available.
OGDEN — Weber County Sheriff’s deputies have arrested a man accused of raping a woman he met on the Mutual dating app following a three month investigation.
Kade Duane Peterson, 22, was booked into the Weber County Jail Friday for investigation of rape.
Peterson and the woman met on the Mutual app and after communicating for several days using the app, agreed to go on a date on Nov. 1, according to a police affidavit.
Mutual is dating app geared specifically toward members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
When Peterson picked up the womanp, they drove around Weber County, the affidavit states.
“The victim stated that Kade seemed to be driving around in circles, which caused her to lose track of where they were. The victim stated that Kade ultimately parked in an area she described as a ‘wooded area’ but was unsure of exactly where they were,” the affidavit states.
Investigators noted in their affidavit that the woman “suffers from a traumatic brain injury along with weakness on her left side from a prior unrelated incident about two years ago.”
The two then got into the back seat of Peterson’s vehicle where he used his strength to rape her, the affidavit states.
“During this, the victim stated that she was asking Kade what he was doing and telling him ‘No, this is not consent,’” according to the affidavit. “The victim stated that she knew she could not fight off Kade because of her weakness on the left side of her body. The victim stated that she knew Kade was strong because he talked about his previous wrestling days while they drove around prior to the incident.”
Peterson dropped off the woman at her apartment after and did not contact her again, the affidavit states. The woman sought medical attention a few days later.
After reporting the incident to police, an officer called Peterson, according to the affidavit.
“Right after ending my phone call with Kade, he called the victim and asked her how she has been doing,” the affidavit states.
A search warrant was served on Peterson’s phone in February, according to court records.
Former NFL star Emmitt Smith speaks during RootsTech at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Feb. 29, 2020. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
Elder and Sister Stevenson tell Latter-day Saints to fortify homes
SALT LAKE CITY — For former NFL star Emmitt Smith, the experience of discovering one of his ancestors was unlike any touchdown or victory he ever experienced on the football field.
Her name was Mariah. She was a young girl when she was taken from West Africa and transported across the ocean on a slave ship to Virginia. From there she ended up in Alabama.
The Super Bowl champion and Hall of Fame running back connected with Mariah as he stood in the remains of slave quarters on property where she once lived. Reading through documents found in the attic by previous owners, something profound happened when Smith read her name, the ex-Dallas Cowboy told the RootsTech audience at the Salt Palace Convention Center.
Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
Former NFL star Emmitt Smith speaks during RootsTech at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Feb. 29, 2020.
“At that time it started to rain and I felt this sense of spirituality start to come over me, like my ancestry and my ancestors was lost to me and my family. Now they’ve been revealed through this whole process of going back through time and finding them,” Smith said. “I had this sense that they was once lost, but now they are now found. And not only are they found, but I felt like their souls were released to heaven because their great-grandson, who’d never knew who they was, has actually taken a trip to go back and find him.”
Smith encouraged those listening to seek the same experience.
“Find out who you are, where you come from,” the retired NFL legend said. “Find out what makes you different than anyone else, find out what’s inside of you. That will give you the strength to not only go forward, but also embrace what your past is all about.”
The personal experience was one of many Smith shared during his hourlong keynote address at the 10th annual RootsTech Conference Saturday.
Elder Gary E. Stevenson, a member of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and his wife, Sister Lesa Stevenson, were also featured speakers as part of the conference’s Family Discovery Day activities Saturday.
Knowing your roots and recognizing the Lord’s hand in your life were main themes in Smith’s remarks.
Smith, born and raised in Pensacola, Florida, recalled sitting on the floor as his father and friends watched a game between the Dallas Cowboys and the New Orleans Saints. Seeing how excited and fascinated they were with this game called football, Smith vowed to one day play for the Cowboys.
“You should have seen the look on my father’s face. I didn’t know if he wanted to laugh or cry,” Smith said. “But he told me something profound — ‘Son, life is going to give you some things that you are going to have to learn to overcome.’”
It was hard to understand as a 7-year-old, he said. But it was the first of many valuable lessons Smith learned over the years from influential people in his life.
“It’s amazing how people come into your life to give you direction and guidance,” he said. “God has a way of showing you your future, even when you’re not prepared to see it, and even when you’re not ready for it. He gives you a glimpse.”
Humility and forgiveness were among the lessons Smith picked up along his journey, he said.
Smith learned humility after giving his first media interview following a high school game. His comments to reporters focused mostly on himself. The next day in practice the coach told the offensive line not to block for Smith and he was creamed in the backfield. Lesson learned, Smith quickly told his coach.
Forgiveness came as he became aware of what his ancestors endured from their slave owners.
“I have forgiven people for some of the wrong they have done. ... Now I’m moving forward,” Smith said. “I would love to meet some of the folks on the other side of my family history tree, just to shake their hands and say, ‘Hello. I know who you are. I know what happened back then, but we all are moving forward now.’”
Smith told stories about playing college football and being drafted by the one team he told his father he wanted play for as a child. He talked about meeting people such as former Dallas coach Jimmy Johnson and former Buffalo quarterback Jim Kelly, long before they played a role in his life.
He emphasized the importance setting goals. As a rookie he wrote down that he wanted to win a Super Bowl, be named an All-Pro and eventually surpass Walter Payton as the NFL’s all-time leading rusher, he said.
“I was focused, I was committed, I was dedicated to the mission. I wanted to do something special and set myself apart,” Smith said. “And I did everything in my power to do such.”
Smith’s drive to succeed even carried over to winning season three of “Dancing With the Stars,” he said.
“We are all clothed with a measure of talent,” he said. “It is up to us to dig deep and find out who we are, to tap into those things and became passionate about whatever it is that you are passionate about. Then life itself is always fun.”
Elder and Sister Stevenson
Drawing upon Nephite war strategies in the Book of Mormon, Elder and Sister Stevenson instructed Latter-day Saints about the need to protect homes and families through temple and family history work.
“As the Nephite cities of old, we can fortify our homes and establish a defense and a refuge,” Elder Stevenson said. “Whatever your family looks like, it needs to be protected. What we observed time and time again is that the home is the most powerful defense and refuge for our families.”
The Stevensons offered a list of ideas for individuals and families to invite the spirit of Elijah into their lives:
Discovering, sharing, recording and preserving stories.
Recording and sharing personal testimonies.
Passing down family names.
Family history activities.
Connect with and getting to know your family members.
Fill out the “My Family” booklet.
Establish meaningful traditions.
Use technology to do good.
Finding ancestral names and serving with your family in the temple.
While talking about the power of discovering stories, Elder and Sister Stevenson shared the stage with three young granddaughters and related the story of an ancestor named Mary Elizabeth Rollins, an early member of the church who gained a testimony by reading the Book of Mormon at a young age.
Elder Stevenson surprised his granddaughters and the audience by showing them the copy of the Book of Mormon given by Joseph Smith to Mary Elizabeth in Nauvoo, which contains a lock of the prophet’s hair and is now owned by the church.
It was early church member Isaac Morley who let Mary Elizabeth borrow a copy of the Book of Mormon. Elder Stevenson recently met Kayle Morley, a descendant of Isaac, at a stake conference in Moroni in Sanpete County. Kayle Morley and some of his family attended the Stevensons’ keynote Saturday.
“The paths that first crossed 190 years ago have now crossed again. This is the spirit of Elijah,” Sister Stevenson said. “There was no coincidence that the descendants of Mary Elizabeth and Isaac Morley were brought back together that day. It brought tears to all of our eyes.”
The next RootsTech conference will be in London Nov. 5-7. Register at rootstech.org.
Former NFL star Emmitt Smith speaks during RootsTech at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Feb. 29, 2020. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
Elder and Sister Stevenson tell Latter-day Saints to fortify homes
SALT LAKE CITY — For former NFL star Emmitt Smith, the experience of discovering one of his ancestors was unlike any touchdown or victory he ever experienced on the football field.
Her name was Mariah. She was a young girl when she was taken from West Africa and transported across the ocean on a slave ship to Virginia. From there she ended up in Alabama.
The Super Bowl champion and Hall of Fame running back connected with Mariah as he stood in the remains of slave quarters on property where she once lived. Reading through documents found in the attic by previous owners, something profound happened when Smith read her name, the ex-Dallas Cowboy told the RootsTech audience at the Salt Palace Convention Center.
Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
Former NFL star Emmitt Smith speaks during RootsTech at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Feb. 29, 2020.
“At that time it started to rain and I felt this sense of spirituality start to come over me, like my ancestry and my ancestors was lost to me and my family. Now they’ve been revealed through this whole process of going back through time and finding them,” Smith said. “I had this sense that they was once lost, but now they are now found. And not only are they found, but I felt like their souls were released to heaven because their great-grandson, who’d never knew who they was, has actually taken a trip to go back and find him.”
Smith encouraged those listening to seek the same experience.
“Find out who you are, where you come from,” the retired NFL legend said. “Find out what makes you different than anyone else, find out what’s inside of you. That will give you the strength to not only go forward, but also embrace what your past is all about.”
The personal experience was one of many Smith shared during his hourlong keynote address at the 10th annual RootsTech Conference Saturday.
Elder Gary E. Stevenson, a member of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and his wife, Sister Lesa Stevenson, were also featured speakers as part of the conference’s Family Discovery Day activities Saturday.
Knowing your roots and recognizing the Lord’s hand in your life were main themes in Smith’s remarks.
Smith, born and raised in Pensacola, Florida, recalled sitting on the floor as his father and friends watched a game between the Dallas Cowboys and the New Orleans Saints. Seeing how excited and fascinated they were with this game called football, Smith vowed to one day play for the Cowboys.
“You should have seen the look on my father’s face. I didn’t know if he wanted to laugh or cry,” Smith said. “But he told me something profound — ‘Son, life is going to give you some things that you are going to have to learn to overcome.’”
It was hard to understand as a 7-year-old, he said. But it was the first of many valuable lessons Smith learned over the years from influential people in his life.
“It’s amazing how people come into your life to give you direction and guidance,” he said. “God has a way of showing you your future, even when you’re not prepared to see it, and even when you’re not ready for it. He gives you a glimpse.”
Humility and forgiveness were among the lessons Smith picked up along his journey, he said.
Smith learned humility after giving his first media interview following a high school game. His comments to reporters focused mostly on himself. The next day in practice the coach told the offensive line not to block for Smith and he was creamed in the backfield. Lesson learned, Smith quickly told his coach.
Forgiveness came as he became aware of what his ancestors endured from their slave owners.
“I have forgiven people for some of the wrong they have done. ... Now I’m moving forward,” Smith said. “I would love to meet some of the folks on the other side of my family history tree, just to shake their hands and say, ‘Hello. I know who you are. I know what happened back then, but we all are moving forward now.’”
Smith told stories about playing college football and being drafted by the one team he told his father he wanted play for as a child. He talked about meeting people such as former Dallas coach Jimmy Johnson and former Buffalo quarterback Jim Kelly, long before they played a role in his life.
He emphasized the importance setting goals. As a rookie he wrote down that he wanted to win a Super Bowl, be named an All-Pro and eventually surpass Walter Payton as the NFL’s all-time leading rusher, he said.
“I was focused, I was committed, I was dedicated to the mission. I wanted to do something special and set myself apart,” Smith said. “And I did everything in my power to do such.”
Smith’s drive to succeed even carried over to winning season three of “Dancing With the Stars,” he said.
“We are all clothed with a measure of talent,” he said. “It is up to us to dig deep and find out who we are, to tap into those things and became passionate about whatever it is that you are passionate about. Then life itself is always fun.”
Elder and Sister Stevenson
Drawing upon Nephite war strategies in the Book of Mormon, Elder and Sister Stevenson instructed Latter-day Saints about the need to protect homes and families through temple and family history work.
“As the Nephite cities of old, we can fortify our homes and establish a defense and a refuge,” Elder Stevenson said. “Whatever your family looks like, it needs to be protected. What we observed time and time again is that the home is the most powerful defense and refuge for our families.”
The Stevensons offered a list of ideas for individuals and families to invite the spirit of Elijah into their lives:
Discovering, sharing, recording and preserving stories.
Recording and sharing personal testimonies.
Passing down family names.
Family history activities.
Connect with and getting to know your family members.
Fill out the “My Family” booklet.
Establish meaningful traditions.
Use technology to do good.
Finding ancestral names and serving with your family in the temple.
While talking about the power of discovering stories, Elder and Sister Stevenson shared the stage with three young granddaughters and related the story of an ancestor named Mary Elizabeth Rollins, an early member of the church who gained a testimony by reading the Book of Mormon at a young age.
Elder Stevenson surprised his granddaughters and the audience by showing them the copy of the Book of Mormon given by Joseph Smith to Mary Elizabeth in Nauvoo, which contains a lock of the prophet’s hair and is now owned by the church.
It was early church member Isaac Morley who let Mary Elizabeth borrow a copy of the Book of Mormon. Elder Stevenson recently met Kayle Morley, a descendant of Isaac, at a stake conference in Moroni in Sanpete County. Kayle Morley and some of his family attended the Stevensons’ keynote Saturday.
“The paths that first crossed 190 years ago have now crossed again. This is the spirit of Elijah,” Sister Stevenson said. “There was no coincidence that the descendants of Mary Elizabeth and Isaac Morley were brought back together that day. It brought tears to all of our eyes.”
The next RootsTech conference will be in London Nov. 5-7. Register at rootstech.org.
Former NFL star Emmitt Smith speaks during RootsTech at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Feb. 29, 2020. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
Elder and Sister Stevenson tell Latter-day Saints to fortify homes
SALT LAKE CITY — For former NFL star Emmitt Smith, the experience of discovering one of his ancestors was unlike any touchdown or victory he ever experienced on the football field.
Her name was Mariah. She was a young girl when she was taken from West Africa and transported across the ocean on a slave ship to Virginia. From there she ended up in Alabama.
The Super Bowl champion and Hall of Fame running back connected with Mariah as he stood in the remains of slave quarters on property where she once lived. Reading through documents found in the attic by previous owners, something profound happened when Smith read her name, the ex-Dallas Cowboy told the RootsTech audience at the Salt Palace Convention Center.
Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
Former NFL star Emmitt Smith speaks during RootsTech at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Feb. 29, 2020.
“At that time it started to rain and I felt this sense of spirituality start to come over me, like my ancestry and my ancestors was lost to me and my family. Now they’ve been revealed through this whole process of going back through time and finding them,” Smith said. “I had this sense that they was once lost, but now they are now found. And not only are they found, but I felt like their souls were released to heaven because their great-grandson, who’d never knew who they was, has actually taken a trip to go back and find him.”
Smith encouraged those listening to seek the same experience.
“Find out who you are, where you come from,” the retired NFL legend said. “Find out what makes you different than anyone else, find out what’s inside of you. That will give you the strength to not only go forward, but also embrace what your past is all about.”
The personal experience was one of many Smith shared during his hourlong keynote address at the 10th annual RootsTech Conference Saturday.
Elder Gary E. Stevenson, a member of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and his wife, Sister Lesa Stevenson, were also featured speakers as part of the conference’s Family Discovery Day activities Saturday.
Knowing your roots and recognizing the Lord’s hand in your life were main themes in Smith’s remarks.
Smith, born and raised in Pensacola, Florida, recalled sitting on the floor as his father and friends watched a game between the Dallas Cowboys and the New Orleans Saints. Seeing how excited and fascinated they were with this game called football, Smith vowed to one day play for the Cowboys.
“You should have seen the look on my father’s face. I didn’t know if he wanted to laugh or cry,” Smith said. “But he told me something profound — ‘Son, life is going to give you some things that you are going to have to learn to overcome.’”
It was hard to understand as a 7-year-old, he said. But it was the first of many valuable lessons Smith learned over the years from influential people in his life.
“It’s amazing how people come into your life to give you direction and guidance,” he said. “God has a way of showing you your future, even when you’re not prepared to see it, and even when you’re not ready for it. He gives you a glimpse.”
Humility and forgiveness were among the lessons Smith picked up along his journey, he said.
Smith learned humility after giving his first media interview following a high school game. His comments to reporters focused mostly on himself. The next day in practice the coach told the offensive line not to block for Smith and he was creamed in the backfield. Lesson learned, Smith quickly told his coach.
Forgiveness came as he became aware of what his ancestors endured from their slave owners.
“I have forgiven people for some of the wrong they have done. ... Now I’m moving forward,” Smith said. “I would love to meet some of the folks on the other side of my family history tree, just to shake their hands and say, ‘Hello. I know who you are. I know what happened back then, but we all are moving forward now.’”
Smith told stories about playing college football and being drafted by the one team he told his father he wanted play for as a child. He talked about meeting people such as former Dallas coach Jimmy Johnson and former Buffalo quarterback Jim Kelly, long before they played a role in his life.
He emphasized the importance setting goals. As a rookie he wrote down that he wanted to win a Super Bowl, be named an All-Pro and eventually surpass Walter Payton as the NFL’s all-time leading rusher, he said.
“I was focused, I was committed, I was dedicated to the mission. I wanted to do something special and set myself apart,” Smith said. “And I did everything in my power to do such.”
Smith’s drive to succeed even carried over to winning season three of “Dancing With the Stars,” he said.
“We are all clothed with a measure of talent,” he said. “It is up to us to dig deep and find out who we are, to tap into those things and became passionate about whatever it is that you are passionate about. Then life itself is always fun.”
Elder and Sister Stevenson
Drawing upon Nephite war strategies in the Book of Mormon, Elder and Sister Stevenson instructed Latter-day Saints about the need to protect homes and families through temple and family history work.
“As the Nephite cities of old, we can fortify our homes and establish a defense and a refuge,” Elder Stevenson said. “Whatever your family looks like, it needs to be protected. What we observed time and time again is that the home is the most powerful defense and refuge for our families.”
The Stevensons offered a list of ideas for individuals and families to invite the spirit of Elijah into their lives:
Discovering, sharing, recording and preserving stories.
Recording and sharing personal testimonies.
Passing down family names.
Family history activities.
Connect with and getting to know your family members.
Fill out the “My Family” booklet.
Establish meaningful traditions.
Use technology to do good.
Finding ancestral names and serving with your family in the temple.
While talking about the power of discovering stories, Elder and Sister Stevenson shared the stage with three young granddaughters and related the story of an ancestor named Mary Elizabeth Rollins, an early member of the church who gained a testimony by reading the Book of Mormon at a young age.
Elder Stevenson surprised his granddaughters and the audience by showing them the copy of the Book of Mormon given by Joseph Smith to Mary Elizabeth in Nauvoo, which contains a lock of the prophet’s hair and is now owned by the church.
It was early church member Isaac Morley who let Mary Elizabeth borrow a copy of the Book of Mormon. Elder Stevenson recently met Kayle Morley, a descendant of Isaac, at a stake conference in Moroni in Sanpete County. Kayle Morley and some of his family attended the Stevensons’ keynote Saturday.
“The paths that first crossed 190 years ago have now crossed again. This is the spirit of Elijah,” Sister Stevenson said. “There was no coincidence that the descendants of Mary Elizabeth and Isaac Morley were brought back together that day. It brought tears to all of our eyes.”
The next RootsTech conference will be in London Nov. 5-7. Register at rootstech.org.
Nine people and an assortment of animals were able escape a house fire without injury in Pleasant Grove on the morning of Saturday, Feb. 29, 2020. | Pleasant Grove Fire Department
PLEASANT GROVE — Nine people and a lot of animals were able to escape a house fire without injury Saturday.
Emergency dispatchers received a call about 5:25 a.m. that a structure at 990 N. 200 West was fully involved and people were trapped in the basement, according to a prepared statement from the Pleasant Grove Fire Department.
Firefighters, however, were able to contain the fire to the carport and a storage shed.
“All in all, there were nine human occupants, two snakes, one hedgehog, one gecko, two cats, one dog and an unknown number of chickens. All humans, dog, cats and chickens were able to safely evacuate, and the snakes, hedgehog and gecko were rescued with no known injuries,” the department stated.
Pleasant Grove praised the quick actions of firefighters for preventing the fire from causing more damage.
A potential cause for the fire was not immediately available.
Kaleb Wiewandt is pictured in a booking photo released late Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2020, by the Weber County Sheriff’s Office. Police say Wiewandt escaped from the jail after posing as another inmate. U.S. marshals took him into custody about 3 p.m. Friday in Mountain Home, Idaho, just outside of Boise. | Weber County Jail
OGDEN — A man who escaped from the Weber County Jail by posing as another inmate was recaptured in Idaho.
U.S. marshals took Kaleb Wiewandt, 41, into custody about 3 p.m. Friday in Mountain Home, Idaho, just outside of Boise.
Authorities had been looking for Wiewandt since Tuesday after he shaved his head and memorized the personal information of fellow inmate Matthew Kyle Belnap, 36, of Pleasant View, then posed as Belenap, who was scheduled to be released from jail that day.
Investigators believe Belnap, who was in jail for shoplifting, was a participant in the scheme. He was charged Thursday in 2nd District Court with aiding and abetting an escape, and obstructing justice, both third-degree felonies.
Wiewandt was being held in Weber County on a federal indictment of escaping from custody. Wiewandt was convicted on federal charges of mail and wire fraud in Arizona and was staying at the Geo Care Residential Reentry Center in Salt Lake City when he escaped, according to court records. He is scheduled to go to trial in that case in May.
Marshals from Boise and Salt Lake City’s Violent Fugitive Apprehension Strike Team were able to track Wiewandt to southern Idaho where they say he was a passenger in a vehicle, according to a statement from the U.S. Marshals Office.
“Troopers and deputies from Elmore County, Idaho, located the vehicle on I-84 southeast of Mountain Home. Law enforcement then executed a traffic stop on the vehicle, and Wiewandt was arrested without incident,” the marshals office stated.
“Like so many others before him, Mr. Wiewandt will learn that you can’t escape the long arm of the law. I hope his four-day vacation was worth it because I suspect he won’t see the light of day for quite some time,” U.S. Marshal for Utah Matthew Harris said in a prepared statement.
Wiewandt is from Orange County in Southern California and was originally believed to be headed that way. Harris, however, said on Saturday that when Wiewandt was arrested he may have been headed to Oregon.
Investigators also believe the man who was driving Wiewandt had no idea who Wiewandt was or that he was wanted, Harris said. That part of the case was still under investigation. The driver was not arrested.
After Wiewandt walked out of jail, staffers discovered emails Wiewandt had sent to a woman making arrangements for her to pick him up, according to charging documents. But as of Saturday, Wiewandt and Belnap were the only two people arrested in the case.
Harris said Wiewandt could now potentially face a new federal charge of escape. He remained in custody in Idaho on Saturday awaiting an extradition hearing to be brought back to Utah. Harris said it was unlikely that Wiewandt would be returned to the Weber County Jail.
Nine people and an assortment of animals were able escape a house fire without injury in Pleasant Grove on the morning of Saturday, Feb. 29, 2020. | Pleasant Grove Fire Department
PLEASANT GROVE — Nine people and a lot of animals were able to escape a house fire without injury Saturday.
Emergency dispatchers received a call about 5:25 a.m. that a structure at 990 N. 200 West was fully involved and people were trapped in the basement, according to a prepared statement from the Pleasant Grove Fire Department.
Firefighters, however, were able to contain the fire to the carport and a storage shed.
“All in all, there were nine human occupants, two snakes, one hedgehog, one gecko, two cats, one dog and an unknown number of chickens. All humans, dog, cats and chickens were able to safely evacuate, and the snakes, hedgehog and gecko were rescued with no known injuries,” the department stated.
Pleasant Grove praised the quick actions of firefighters for preventing the fire from causing more damage.
A potential cause for the fire was not immediately available.
Cedar celebrates after defeating Pine View for the 4A girls basketball championship title at the Dee Events Center in Ogden on Saturday, Feb. 29, 2020. | Ivy Ceballo, Deseret News
OGDEN — When the Cedar girls basketball team started team activities in preparation for this season, the group had one thing on its mind.
Repeat.
The team worked all season to make that mantra a reality, and on Saturday, they did exactly that.
The Reds left no doubt in a 61-44 defeat of Pine View to claim the 4A state championship, their second consecutive title.
“To do it with the girls, it means so much. We all love each other so much,” Reds guard Samantha Johnston said.
“It’s a lot of our senior years, the last time wearing a Cedar uniform, and we definitely wanted to end on the right note. Our last two years, 49-2? It doesn’t get much better than that and I love my team,” guard Mayci Torgerson added.
After leading by two following the first quarter, Cedar ran away with it in the second, outscoring Pine View 25-13 in the period. The Reds employed a press that caused deflections and turnovers and turned a close game into having full control.
Cedar also hit five 3-pointers in the second quarter to extend its lead.
“We’re a good 3-point shooting team. We have multiple players that can shoot 3s. I have complete confidence in Japrix (Weaver), Sam and Mayci,” head coach Corry Nielsen said.
In the second half, the Reds kept their foot on the gas, not letting Pine View back into the game as Nielsen ran more sets and plays to get his shooters open.
Cedar locked down on the defensive end, too, forcing 13 Pine View turnovers and scoring 20 points off those turnovers. The Reds held Pine View to 44 points, well below the Panthers’ season average of 56.5 points per game entering the tournament.
“Defense is always our emphasis. We played that team earlier in the season twice. We knew their strengths and weaknesses and got it done on the defensive end,” Torgerson said.
“We knew what they were doing and they knew what we were doing. We had to help out in the paint and we had to get more rebounds,” Nielsen added. “I told the girls if we will outrebound them, we have a good chance to win the game. That was the key to the game.”
What makes coaching basketball special for Nielsen are the girls that he gets to lead. He could sit down all day and tell a different stories about each member of his team.
There’s Weaver, the senior guard who scored 11 points, grabbed eight rebounds, had five blocks and three assists in the championship game.
“(She’s) been on the varsity (team) for all four years. You see her ACL tear and you see how hard she’s fought back and the time and the effort to get back to be able to play,” Nielsen said. “Last year, she probably played at 60% in the state tournament and she was so discouraged. To see her come back and get to 100% — she’s the best player in the state.”
There’s junior point guard Logann Laws, who had six points, three assists and four rebounds.
“Logann, how hard she’s worked on becoming a better shooter,” Nielsen said.
There’s Johnston, a junior who scored 10 points and had five rebounds, six assists and two steals.
“Samantha, how she’s come in here and fit in so perfectly with the girls,” Nielsen said. “She doesn’t care about scoring. She just wants everyone else to succeed.”
There’s Torgerson, a senior who moved to Cedar two years ago. She scored a game-high 14 points to lead the Reds and also had eight rebounds, two steals and an assist.
“She took a chance. Her family took a chance. Look what’s happened to her,” Nielsen said.
And then there’s senior forward Denim Henkel, who had eight points and a steal.
The moments after the championship were bittersweet for Nielsen.
“These girls are so important to me that I would do anything for them. On that side, I’m sad they won’t be involved in the program anymore, but I’m happy that we won,” Nielsen said. “You spend so much time with these people that you want them to succeed, but you’ve also got to find out that there’s a time where they have to move on and do other things.”
The legacy that Cedar’s senior class, which led the Reds to two state titles and a 49-2 record over the past two seasons, leaves is immense.
“They came to practice every day to get better. They didn’t ever take any days off,” Nielsen said. “Every day they came and worked hard. They had a specific goal in mind and that was to be here.”
Kaleb Wiewandt is pictured in a booking photo released late Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2020, by the Weber County Sheriff’s Office. Police say Wiewandt escaped from the jail after posing as another inmate. U.S. marshals took him into custody about 3 p.m. Friday in Mountain Home, Idaho, just outside of Boise. | Weber County Jail
OGDEN — A man who escaped from the Weber County Jail by posing as another inmate was recaptured in Idaho.
U.S. marshals took Kaleb Wiewandt, 41, into custody about 3 p.m. Friday in Mountain Home, Idaho, just outside of Boise.
Authorities had been looking for Wiewandt since Tuesday after he shaved his head and memorized the personal information of fellow inmate Matthew Kyle Belnap, 36, of Pleasant View, then posed as Belenap, who was scheduled to be released from jail that day.
Investigators believe Belnap, who was in jail for shoplifting, was a participant in the scheme. He was charged Thursday in 2nd District Court with aiding and abetting an escape, and obstructing justice, both third-degree felonies.
Wiewandt was being held in Weber County on a federal indictment of escaping from custody. Wiewandt was convicted on federal charges of mail and wire fraud in Arizona and was staying at the Geo Care Residential Reentry Center in Salt Lake City when he escaped, according to court records. He is scheduled to go to trial in that case in May.
Marshals from Boise and Salt Lake City’s Violent Fugitive Apprehension Strike Team were able to track Wiewandt to southern Idaho where they say he was a passenger in a vehicle, according to a statement from the U.S. Marshals Office.
“Troopers and deputies from Elmore County, Idaho, located the vehicle on I-84 southeast of Mountain Home. Law enforcement then executed a traffic stop on the vehicle, and Wiewandt was arrested without incident,” the marshals office stated.
“Like so many others before him, Mr. Wiewandt will learn that you can’t escape the long arm of the law. I hope his four-day vacation was worth it because I suspect he won’t see the light of day for quite some time,” U.S. Marshal for Utah Matthew Harris said in a prepared statement.
Wiewandt is from Orange County in Southern California and was originally believed to be headed that way. Harris, however, said on Saturday that when Wiewandt was arrested he may have been headed to Oregon.
Investigators also believe the man who was driving Wiewandt had no idea who Wiewandt was or that he was wanted, Harris said. That part of the case was still under investigation. The driver was not arrested.
After Wiewandt walked out of jail, staffers discovered emails Wiewandt had sent to a woman making arrangements for her to pick him up, according to charging documents. But as of Saturday, Wiewandt and Belnap were the only two people arrested in the case.
Harris said Wiewandt could now potentially face a new federal charge of escape. He remained in custody in Idaho on Saturday awaiting an extradition hearing to be brought back to Utah. Harris said it was unlikely that Wiewandt would be returned to the Weber County Jail.
Highland’s Kaija Glasker hold the championship trophy as the Rams celebrate their win over Springville in the 5A state basketball championship in the Huntsman Center at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Feb. 29, 2020. Highland won 46-34. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News
Tournament MVP Kaija Glasker led the way for for the Rams during Saturday’s championship win, much like she has all season
SALT LAKE CITY — Highland decided on Saturday that 36 years had been long enough since last securing a girls state basketball championship.
Not since 1984 have the Rams taken the enviable position as last team standing — hoisting the state championship trophy high while celebrating every precious moment with students and family. The scene came as a result of Highland toughing out a 46-34 win over Springville at the Huntsman Center in what proved an extremely well-earned win.
“It feels amazing. It’s an indescribable feeling,” said Highland forward Kaija Glasker. “We fought so hard to get here. We finally did it.”
Glasker led the Rams on Saturday, much like she did the entire year in helping settle down an otherwise very young team while taking the lead in scoring points and grabbing rebounds, along with just about everything else. The senior finished with a game-high 14 points and pulled down 10 rebounds in a performance that worked as a microcosm for what she’s done for the entire year.
Highland coach Kurt Schneider described an offseason in which Glasker really took charge leading up to a season which ultimately bore a championship.
“Somewhere over the summer and into the fall, Kaija just became a huge leader in every way,” Schneider said. “She didn’t have to be the center of things, but just worked so hard getting everyone involved, and just believing in and encouraging all of our younger players with everything. When I started to see that, that’s when I believe that, yeah, this team could be pretty good.”
Glasker’s teammates saw the same, and benefitted big from it.
“She’s just showed us how to push through whatever adversity comes and just grind away,” said Highland freshman Sosefina Langi, who scored nine points and had seven rebounds in Saturday’s win. “She’s just a great leader who sincerely wants the best for all of us.”
Adversity came hard and often for Langi and her teammates throughout Saturday’s win. Not much of anything flowed on either side of the floor, with a somewhat desperate Red Devils team applying a lot of physical play, which was often matched by the Rams. The game featured 43 fouls called and 53 combined free throws taken in what could very well be described as a slugfest.
Glasker was on the brunt end of a lot of whistles, and had to battle through foul trouble throughout.
“That was definitely frustrating, especially with this being my last high school game,” Glasker said. “I had to sit a lot of the time, so that was frustrating, but we pushed through it.”
The good news regarding Glasker’s foul trouble was Highland establishing a big 21-8 lead at the half, which gave way to a second half in which Springville only managed to cut the lead to no fewer than seven points. Glasker did her best through all of it, calming down her younger teammates during the tense moments which always accompany highly-physical contests.
“We couldn’t have done this without her,” Langi said. “I’m so grateful for her being there for me today, just like she’s always been.”
Also showing big for the Rams was Bria Neeleman, who hit a big 3-pointer to end the first half and finished with seven points and four rebounds, along with Lei Makaui, who also scored seven.
As for Schneider, Saturday’s win was a big moment for him personally, although he was quick to reflect the moment on his players.
“We’ve definitely had our ups and downs since I became head coach here five years ago, so I’m just happy most of all for the girls who have put in the time to get this,” Schneider said. “But for me, as someone who has played and coached for many, many years without winning a championship, it really is special, and I’m just so blessed to have girls who believed in me. That’s the best part of all of this — to have a team that believed and then worked so hard to get what we did today.”
Jonah Hoskins, a 23-year-old tenor from Brigham Young University, will compete in the final phase of the Metropolitan Opera’s National Council Auditions on Sunday, March 1. | Provided by Todd Hoskins
If 23-year-old Jonah Hoskins is a winner of the prestigious Metropolitan Opera competition on Sunday, he will receive $20,000 and major exposure in the opera world
On the day he flew to New York City to sing in the biggest competition of his life, Jonah Hoskins opened up a fortune cookie.
“Sing and rejoice. Fortune is smiling on you.”
He took that little piece of paper and boarded his plane. The BYU student was heading to the Metropolitan Opera House to compete in the semifinals of the National Council Auditions — a program that highlights some of the most promising young opera singers in North America.
A competition that gave a 29-year-old Renee Fleming her big break in 1988.
A contest that, if won, could launch his own opera career.
Hoskins advanced past the semifinal round on Feb. 24. Now, he’s one of nine 2020 national finalists who will solo with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra for the final phase of the competition on Sunday — which will be streamed live on the Met’s website at 3 p.m. EST.
Provided by Todd Hoskins
Utah native Jonah Hoskins is one of nine 2020 national finalists in the Metropolitan Opera’s National Council Auditions.
The winners are chosen by a panel of expert judges that includes Metropolitan Opera staff. If Hoskins is selected, he will receive $20,000 and major exposure in the opera world — in fact, some of the country’s biggest opera houses (Chicago, Washington, Houston Grand Opera) already heard Hoskins sing in the semifinals.
There’s a lot of pressure in a competition like this. But that fortune cookie Hoskins got from a restaurant in Provo, Utah, has stayed in his mind.
“Winning this competition would be really huge,” the 23-year-old tenor said. “But ‘sing and rejoice’ — that kind of became the goal.”
Third time’s the charm
This isn’t Hoskins’ first time participating in the prestigious competition; he’s competed twice before. But this time marks the farthest he’s gone.
In the early evening on Thursday, the Saratoga Springs, Utah, native had just gotten out of rehearsal and was back at his room in the Hudson Hotel — about a half-mile walk from the opera house. As he talked with the Deseret News, the incessant city noise made its way onto the call.
But the singer’s used to that. He served a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in New York City’s Chinatown — about a 40-minute subway ride from his hotel. He’s invited a few people from his mission to his big performance, and he’s even been able to brush up on his Mandarin Chinese with fellow national finalist Xiaomeng Zhang.
Hoskins is an up-and-coming opera singer, so his decision to halt his studies and serve a church mission from 2015-2017 surprised some people. But it was a choice he said ended up benefiting him as a performer — a year after his mission, he made his professional debut in Utah Opera’s production of “Romeo et Juliette.”
And now, a year-and-a-half after that, he’s finally made it to the ultimate round of the Metropolitan Opera competition.
Dana Sohm/Provided by Utah Opera
Jonah Hoskins (center, standing) made his professional debut in Utah Opera’s “Romeo et Juliette” in October 2018.
“Opera is all about finding your true voice, getting everything out of the way so that your pure, raw sound is what’s coming out,” he said. “And I felt like my voice matured and got better while I was on my mission. Taking (time off), I don’t feel like that pulled me back at all because in opera, people want you to be a little older. I still get people telling me that I’m too young all the time.”
A rising star
At 23, Hoskins is the youngest finalist in this year’s competition (last year featured a 21-year-old winner, soprano Elena Villalon). He’s in his final semester at Brigham Young University, where both he and his older sister, graduate student Mary Hoskins, study vocal performance.
The two grew up singing together in the Salt Lake Children’s Choir and have been each other’s biggest supporter and toughest competitor over the years — Mary Hoskins has participated in the Met Opera competition four times and made it to the semifinal round last year.
Now, the siblings are getting ready to perform their school recitals together on April 3.
Provided by Todd Hoskins
Even if Jonah Hoskins doesn’t win the Metropolitan Opera’s National Council Auditions, just getting to this point — the final nine — has already placed him in the rising generation of opera stars.
“It’s nice to have kind of a partner in crime, somebody who understands how hard it is to leave overnight, take a redeye and go sing at 10 a.m and then fly back before the next day before school starts again,” Hoskins said with a laugh.
The tenor is taking 26 credits this semester, and in New York, he’s been juggling rehearsal time and schoolwork since the competition overlapped with his midterms. He has two tests to look forward to when he gets home.
But in the meantime, he’s concentrating on his big moment on the Metropolitan Opera stage. And finding a new pair of shoes to go with the $2,000 Brooks Brothers tuxedo he was gifted for this round of the competition.
More than 1,000 singers across North America entered this competition, which showcases performers who are 20 to 30 years old. Even if Hoskins doesn’t win, just getting to this point — the final nine — has already placed him in the rising generation of opera stars.
“I’m just super grateful and happy to have gotten to this point,” he said. “It kind of feels like a dream. Winning would definitely change my trajectory in this career. But mostly, I just want to have a really good time on the stage.”
An American flag is draped over the casket of Herriman police K-9 Hondo during memorial services at Herriman High School in Herriman on Saturday. The 7-year-old Belgian Malinois was shot and killed in the line of duty on Feb. 13 in Salt Lake City while trying to apprehend a wanted violent fugitive who was also shot and killed after officers say he displayed a gun. According to Herriman Police Lt. Cody Stromberg, the team of Sgt. Ben Ricks and Hondo was “one of the top K-9 teams in the state of Utah if not the entire country.” Hondo was responsible for more than 100 arrests in Salt Lake County and assisted in taking hundreds of pounds of drugs off the streets, he said. Hondo began his career with the Unified Police Department before moving to Herriman when it launched its own police department in 2018.
The Capitol in Salt Lake City is pictured on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2020. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Senate gave final approval to a bill that would require the Utah State Board of Regents to study public safety activities on state college campuses, give recommendations for improvements and report findings to the Legislature.
SB80 had already flown through both the House 69-1 and the Senate 26-1 on the third reading — Friday’s vote was to approve an amendment introduced in a House committee, which Senate lawmakers pushed through 27-1.
The bill would also require the board to present their final report to the Legislature based off their study which would focus on issues like policies and practices for hiring, supervision and dismissal of campus law enforcement officers, and campus law enforcement training.
The bill’s sponsor, Senate Minority Assistant Whip Jani Iwamoto, D-Holladay, said the legislation came back to the Senate for final approval because of a House amendment that added a coordinating clause to go with Sen. Ann Millner’s SB111, which would rename the State Board of Regents as the Utah Board of Higher Education.
SB80 builds upon requirements implemented in SB134 — a bill that passed during the 2019 Legislative session in the wake of the on-campus murder of University of Utah student athlete Lauren McCluskey in 2018.
OGDEN — An Ogden man was charged Friday with possessing child pornography.
Phillip Joseph Dykeman III, 18, was charged with five counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, a second-degree felony, in 2nd District Court.
The investigation began in September when “a popular social media website reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that an online user uploaded seven digital files depicting child pornography,” according to a police affidavit.
Investigators were able to trace the files back to Dykeman’s address in Ogden, where they served a search warrant on Thursday.
“During the execution of the search warrant, the defendant, who was located inside the residence, admitted in a post-Miranda interview to possessing and distributing child pornography via the internet using the popular media website,” according to charging documents.
While investigating that case, detectives determined Dykeman was also a suspect in two sex offense cases in Ogden, according to the affidavit.
“These cases are currently being screened for additional charges through the Weber County Attorney’s Office,” the affidavit states.
As of Friday, no formal charges had been filed in those investigations.
SALT LAKE CITY — Utah legislators gave their final approval Friday to tighten the rules for what can be requested on vanity plates — legislation aimed at combating inscriptions that disparage a group based on race, sexual orientation, citizen status and other protected categories.
SB97, sponsored by Senate Minority Whip Luz Escamilla, D-Salt Lake City, soared through the House Wednesday with a vote of 68-0 with an amendment. On Friday, senators approved the amended version 23-5, sending the bill to the governor.
“The House passed this bill unanimously from the committee and the House floor supporting the changes,” Escamilla said. “They did want to change the word gender and put sex instead of gender as the word — that’s the only change, and I think it’s a very friendly change.”
The legislation expands restrictions by adding a provision to current law declaring plate requests should be denied when they disparage a group based on race, color, national origin, religion, age, gender identity, sexual orientation, citizenship status, physical or mental disability, and now sex.
Currently, plate requests can be denied when they carry connotations offensive to “good taste and decency or that would be misleading.” The Utah Division of Motor Vehicles outlines this as requests that reference drugs; are sexual, vulgar or derogatory; suggest ideas dangerous to public welfare; or disrespect “race, religion, deity, ethnic heritage, gender or political affiliation.”
The bill also has a provision that would prevent the DMV from rejecting vanity plates that reference a state symbol such as the Utah firearm.
The bill cleared the House on a 55-15, party line vote after lawmakers approved an amendment clarifying guns can be banned in homeless shelters, as well as striking a clause that would allow elected officials to be sued for voting to regulate firearms.
The bill is sponsored by Rep. Cory Maloy, R-Lehi, an outspoken Second Amendment supporter on Utah’s Capitol Hill. It’s opposed by Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson and Democrats, who argue local governments should have the ability to pass local regulations.
Wilson has argued her “operational change” to close the gun show background check loophole in Salt Lake County by requiring it in contracts with gun show vendors isn’t necessarily a regulation, but rather an exercise of the county’s administrative ability to set requirements with vendors leasing county-owned facilities.
The bill now goes to the Senate for consideration.
SALT LAKE CITY — A man who prosecutors say refused to show up to court on drug and weapons charges now faces additional charges for allegedly threatening the judge in the case and police.
In January, Regis Allen Simmons, 31, of Green Mountain Falls, Colorado, was charged in 4th District Court with two counts of possession of a firearm by a restricted person, two counts of drug possession and possession of drug paraphernalia.
The charges came after Simmons’ vehicle broke down in Millard County, and as Utah Highway Patrol troopers were assisting, they could smell marijuana coming from inside the car, according to court documents. A search of the vehicle turned up marijuana and a THC product, a rifle and a handgun, the charges state.
Simmons was arrested, posted bail and was ordered to appear in court on Feb. 12. But when Simmons failed to appear, a warrant was issued for his arrest and another hearing scheduled for Wednesday.
On Tuesday, Simmons’ attorney received a voicemail message from his client stating he would not be appearing in court, and then went on to say “it would be best” if the judge didn't issue a warrant for his arrest “for his health and safety,” the charges state.
Simmons went on to say in the voicemail that everything would be all right if the charges were dropped, and that the judge had “already thrown (him) in the cage once” but “it won’t happen again,” according to charging documents.
The voicemail then got increasingly aggressive when Simmons used expletive terms to describe the judge while stating, “if they want to wage war with me I’m ready for war,” the charges state.
“They come after me, threaten me, take my money ... that’s punishable by death,” Simmons said with the last part emphasized, the charges state. “This is war.”
The message ended with Simmons saying everyone involved with his arrest and prosecution “was going to be all over the news,” according to charging documents.
The voicemail was turned over to law enforcement and on Friday Simmons was charged in a new case with making a terroristic threat, a second-degree felony, and making a threat against a judge, a third-degree felony. An additional warrant was issued for his arrest.
Over 3.5K registered Republicans and 48K unaffiliated voters have requested Democratic ballots for Utah primary
SALT LAKE CITY — Registered Republican Natalie Larsen did something she has never done before in the 20 or so years she has been eligible to vote: Cast a ballot in a Democratic primary.
Fed up with President Donald Trump and feeling the GOP has left her, the 40-year-old married mother of four requested a Democratic presidential primary ballot from the Salt Lake County Clerk’s Office and voted for Pete Buttigieg.
“That was my chance to make a statement,” she said. “Maybe I just feel like it may have been my last chance for another four years.”
Larsen apparently isn’t alone as Utahns participate in Super Tuesday for the first time.
As of Wednesday, 3,506 registered Utah Republicans had requested Democratic ballots, according to the lieutenant governor’s office, which oversees state elections.
And 47,971 unaffiliated voters had asked for Democratic ballots.
The numbers amount to 0.4% of registered Republicans and 10% of independent voters choosing to vote in the Democratic primary. The state doesn’t have a good baseline for comparison to previous primary elections.
Salt Lake County Clerk Sherrie Swensen said her office was inundated with calls and emails from people who wanted to cancel their Republican ballot in favor of a Democratic one.
“It’s been an ongoing thing,” she said.
Swensen couldn’t quantify how much that happened but said it’s “definitely” more than in the past. She said she was concerned at first that voters might have bad intentions. But, she said, it appears people want to vote in a more interesting and contested race.
It goes deeper than that for Larsen.
“I don’t feel like the Republican Party is listening to people like me,” she said. “The only way I can show that is by voting in the Democratic primary. I’ve gotten to the point where I think this is less about party and more about candidates.”
Larsen said she is unhappy with the way Trump is representing the country. She said she was surprised at how poorly many Republicans treated Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, after he voted to remove the president in the impeachment trial. Some have put party far above people, she said.
Though she has voted for Republicans in three of the last four presidential elections — independent Evan McMullin got her vote in 2016 — Larsen started following Buttigieg’s campaign. She watched how he handled questions and said she appreciated the mature, thoughtful way he deals with people. She said she would “pay good money” to see Buttigieg on the debate stage with Trump.
But Larsen is resigned to the notion that Sanders will be the Democratic nominee and then lose to Trump in November. She said she can’t see herself voting for either one, so she would go with a third party candidate or write in someone.
Sanders has emerged as the Democratic front-runner across the country and in Utah, where the latest Deseret News/Hinckley Institute of Politics poll him shows him leading among likely voters in the Democratic primary.
Utah Democratic Party Chairman Jeff Merchant said doesn’t believe Republicans are crossing over to elect a weak challenger to Trump. He said he has talked with many Republicans who are “disgusted” with the current administration and want a viable Democratic candidate, one they can be comfortable with.
“We’re not afraid of Republicans participating in that process. It’s a healthy one. It’s a good one,” he said.
Trump, though, has strong support among Utah Republicans. A Deseret News/Hinckley Institute poll last month showed 80% of likely GOP voters approve of the job he is doing. The survey found 18% of Republicans in the state disapprove of the president’s performance.
“Within the Republican Party there is a set of Utah voters who do not like Donald Trump, but whether they’re disaffected enough to participate in the Democratic primary is something we don’t yet know,” said Chris Karpowitz, co-director of the Center for Democracy and Elections at Brigham Young University.
The small percentage of Republican voters who requested Democratic ballots would be unlikely to make a difference in a general election, but could be meaningful in a race with many different candidates, he said.
So if Republicans got behind a moderate Democrat, it could make a difference for that candidate, Karpowitz said.
While the Democratic primary is open to anyone, only registered Republicans are allowed to vote in the GOP primary.
There are still several options to vote in the days before and on March 3.
Friday was last day of early voting, though some counties, including Salt Lake, Weber and Utah, have extended early voting through Monday.
Mail-in ballots can still be sent in but must be postmarked no later than Monday. Those ballots may also be taken to drop boxes between now and 8 p.m. Tuesday.
On Tuesday, polls open at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m. for in-person voting. More specific voter information can be found at vote.utah.gov.
Utah State quarterback Jordan Love runs a drill at the NFL football scouting combine in Indianapolis, Thursday, Feb. 27, 2020. | Charlie Neibergall, Associated Press
SALT LAKE CITY — Utah State’s Jordan Love didn’t do anything to dissuade the optimism surrounding his pro prospects during the NFL scouting combine on Thursday.
Quite the opposite.
Following the on-field workouts by quarterbacks, the former Aggie earned plenty of praise for his efforts at the annual event in Indianapolis. Love, who was rated the No. 18 overall prospect in the 2020 draft class — and third quarterback overall — by NFL.com draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah before the scouting combine, got a bump in hype following his workout.
“Of all the quarterback names here in Indianapolis that have been buzzing the hallways, late-night bars and restaurants, Jordan Love much more so than anyone,” NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport said, per NFL.com. “I’ve talked to general managers, assistant GMs, coaches, they all wanted to see how this guy threw because his buzz is kind of building. We’ve all kind of assumed that he’s a first-round quarterback. I would not be surprised now, upper-end of the first round, maybe even heading up into the top 10.”
The 21-year-old Love, who stands 6-foot-4 and 224 pounds, is drawing comparisons to third-year Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who earned Super Bowl MVP honors earlier this month after leading the Chiefs to a 31-20 Super Bowl LIV win over the San Francisco 49ers. Mahomes is known for his athleticism and ability to make all kinds of throws, even on the run, qualities Love has shown in his game.
USU’s former star is embracing the comparison.
“Different teams ask me who I’d compare my game to, and I’d say that too, as well, just as far as arm strength and playmaking ability,” he told Yahoo Sports. “I mean, I’m not saying I’m Patrick Mahomes at the end of the day. But I love his game, I love watching his game, and obviously, that’s something I’m trying to implement in my game, as well.”
Much has been made of Love’s 17 FBS-leading interceptions last year to go with 20 touchdown passes, one year after he threw 32 touchdowns and just six interceptions as a sophomore.
Again, Love didn’t shy from the scrutiny.
“You’ve got to take the good with the bad,” Love told USA Today. “It’s never fun, but if I don’t want to talk about it, I don’t have to throw 17 interceptions next time.”
The 2020 NFL draft takes place April 23-25 in Las Vegas.
Love’s NFL Scouting Combine numbers
40-yard dash: 4.74 seconds (seventh among QBs)
Vertical jump: 35.5 inches (tied second)
Broad jump: 9 feet, 10 inches (fifth)
Three-cone drill: 7.21 seconds (sixth)
20-yard shuttle: 4.52 seconds (tied ninth)
NFL.com prospect grade: 6.33 — will be starter within first two seasons
BYU guard TJ Haws (30) goes up to basket while defended by Pepperdine guard Sedrick Altman (0) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, Feb. 29, 2020, in Malibu, Calif. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu) | AP
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Cedar celebrates after defeating Pine View for the 4A girls basketball championship title at the Dee Events Center in Ogden on Saturday, Feb. 29, 2020. | Ivy Ceballo, Deseret News
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Utah State quarterback Jordan Love runs a drill at the NFL football scouting combine in Indianapolis, Thursday, Feb. 27, 2020. | Charlie Neibergall, Associated Press
