Practice News Story 4: Court

10:16 a.m. MT Sept. 26, 2007

Two Logan Residents Charged with Vandalism of LDS Meetinghouse

Logan, UT- 35-year-old James Michaels and a juvenile accomplice were charged today with misdemeanor accounts of breaking, entering and vandalizing a LDS meeting house. The preliminary hearing was held today at the 1st Superior Court in Logan.

The two men are linked to a break in that occurred last week during the early hours of the morning at a local LDS meeting house. Two computers were removed from the church, and the two accompanying monitors were found destroyed in the building. Sheriff Deputy Geoffrey Hasty, the officer who arrested the two suspects, was guided to the accused’s homes by the help of a squad of K9’s. Also factoring into the arrests were phone calls from neighbors and friends of the juvenile. “We received several tips throughout the day,” Hasty said.

The two men were being held in the Cache County Detention Center before they took out a bail bond to pay the 1000$ release fee. Their trial will be held October 21st. Defense Attorney Robbie Cochran doubts that there will be a need for the next trial. “We believe our clients are innocent of their crimes … I believe the charges will be dropped.”

Practice News Story 3: Crime

Mormon Church Vandalized; Damage Minimal

Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that frequent the meetinghouse found on 1600 Ave. and 900 N. in Logan must must have done something to earn God's favor this week. Yesterday morning the meetinghouse was burglarized, and although two computers were stolen and two accompanying monitors were destroyed, the damage could have been much worse. The burglary took place sometime near 2:20 a.m. when at least two people entered the church and removed the two computers. The monitors were later found shattered inside the church. Just recently the buildings computer system had been changed and the stolen computers had been wiped clean of any information or software and were on the verge of being recycled. Even though the loss of the equipment hovers around $600, losing only two old, blank computers would be counted a blessing among the majority of church circles.

After finding no evidence of forced entry, the police were able to locate the burglar’s path to penetrating the church building. The previous night a window located on the back side of the building was inadvertently left open, a mistake which Bob Knotz, physical management manager over five LDS church buildings, says is, “against (security) recommendations”. Two leaders of the church, Bishop Lawrence Shirk and one of his counselors were interviewing members late in the evening and upon leaving failed to notice the open window. The two burglars noticed, however, and capitalized on the opportunity to enter the church and vandalize at will. Vandalize at will meaning steal two old computer systems. Bob Knotz arrived at the church that same morning to begin his days work of replacing ceiling tiles when he noticed the two broken monitors. “I’ve seen vandalism happen to church buildings before,” he said. “This is not the reason I enjoy being the (physical management) guy … but it’s part of the job.” Shirk reiterated the point that the loss wasn’t as bad as it could have been.“(The burglars) aren’t going to be getting any software,” the bishop said. “(The computers and monitors) were extras we were going to recycle anyway.” Shirk also accepted the fault for the window mishap. “It’s obvious who’s to blame, I left the window open … I just forgot to close it.”

For such a seemingly insignificant crime, local police are pulling out all the stops to find the suspects. They sent out officers with K-9s to track the suspect’s scent and have also spent time compiling ample fingerprint evidence. Currently the police have two suspects.

Practice News Story 2: Fire

It may be a while before fans of Pedro’s Mexican Restaurant get a chance to enjoy the stores patented tacos. The restaurant, located on 21st and Washington in Ogden, went up in flames yesterday afternoon, the result of an uncontrollable kitchen grease fire. The 3-story building, built in the 1950’s, also housed a pair of apartment units. The whole building was destroyed, but no one was seriously injured in the process.

Pedro Sanchez, owner of the restaurant, explained that he was in the back cooking when the flames lept from the stove and began to spread throughout the edifice. According to Pedro, the fire was, “too big”, and his attempts to put it out with a fire extinguisher were spent in vain. “I needed to help, but couldn’t, ” said Pedro. “It (was) the scariest thing I’ve ever really been a part of.” He and the one customer in the store at the time escaped from the restaurant with minor burns. Above, in the apartments, were Pedro’s brother Miguel, and his two daughters, Mercedes and Maria del Mar. As the smoke filled the apartments, Miguel grabbed his two children and left the building. All three suffered smoke inhalation and have been taken to neighboring hospitals for treatment.

Firefighters arrived on the scene within the hour. Although the whole building was destroyed, no neighboring buildings were affected. At least 4 firefighters penetrated the building to aid in silencing the blaze. Building owner Rachel Calhoun, who was obviously disappointed by the loss, acknowledged that at least there were no major injuries. “When it comes right down to it, that’s what’s important.” Deputy Fire Chief Greg Chamberlain concurred. “I’m just glad we got everybody out… that’s how we like to do it.”

Practice News Story 1: Accident

8 DEAD, 3 IN HOSPITAL AFTER VAN ACCIDENT

Drivers heading towards Tremonton yesterday via Interstate 84 were witness to a tragic scene. A Utah State University field trip turned disastrous after a van carrying ten students and their instructor swerved and rolled off the road, ejecting all riders, killing eight and sending the surviving three to neighboring hospitals in the process.

The accident occurred around 4:00 p.m. as the students were making the return trip to campus. While high speed may have played a factor in the crash (the van was reported as traveling at 81 mph) Kyle Holden, a fellow student who participated in the field trip, said that from his view in a separate car, smoke bellowed from the back of the van just before the crash happened. “It looked like the tire exploded…it just disappeared.” Driver Evan Packer, the instructor leading the field trip, tried to regain control, but was unable to prevent the car from flying off the road. The van rolled at least three times before coming to a stop. Six of the students died before emergency aid arrived, two passed away en route to the hospital, while the other three remain in unknown conditions in nearby hospitals.

While some might angrily search for fault in the van itself, investigation has yet to show the exact cause of the accident. Stan Albrecht, President of Utah State University, assured that university provided vehicles are inspected every two years. Sadly, the pain of death may have been lessened had any of the passengers been using their seat belts. All eleven were thrown out of the van, and Jason Jenson, the highway patrolmen who arrived at the scene, admitted that there existed no sign of seatbelt usage.

“I can’t believe this has even happened,” said Kyle, who realized that he could’ve easily been traveling in the van with his fellow students.“These are good homegrown farm kids… they were my friends.” President Albrecht, recognizing the greatness of the tragedy, plans on holding a memorial service in the students honor. The names of the victims will be released within the week.