KCYN-KCPX NEWS THURSDAY 23Aug2012

>>Utah Man Accused Of Defrauding Army For Millions

(Salt Lake City, UT) -- A federal grand jury has indicted a Utah man on charges he schemed the Army out of millions of dollars. Christopher Harris is accused of relaying inside information about a proposed Army contract while he was serving as a soldier in Afghanistan. After that, prosecutors say he and other defendants set up an elaborate financial network to hide kickbacks from the contract, which was renewed so many times it was worth 54-million dollars in the end.

>>Romney Asks Retired Mormon Police Chief To Give Convention Invocation

(Tampa, FL) -- Mitt Romney is asking a retired Mormon police chief from Massachusetts to give the invocation on the last day of the Republican National Convention next week in Tampa, Florida. The "Deseret News" reports Kenneth Hutchins was a counselor to Romney when Romney was an LDS stake president. Hutchins later succeeded Romney as president of the Boston Massachusetts stake. Hutchins is also fighting cancer and has recently completed a round of chemotherapy.

>>Herbert Praises I-15 Reconstruction Project

(Undated) -- Gary Herbert is praising the contractors involved in rebuilding I-15 in Utah County. During a tour of the project yesterday, Herbert pointed to the project being 230-million dollars under budget and two years ahead of schedule. Herbert has been criticized for the bid process in the contract worth more than one-billion dollars, since it benefited some political donors of his. He was cleared of any wrongdoing in audits.

>>Trooper Loses Fingers After I-80 Crash

(Undated) -- The Utah Highway Patrol is investigating to see if charges are appropriate for a car crash that left a trooper with a partially-severed hand. Sergeant Chris Dunn was at the scene of one accident along I-80 in Parleys Canyon when a truck struck him. The driver said he couldn't shift properly. Dunn's hand may have been caught between the door of his car and the truck. Dunn was in surgery most of the rest of the afternoon while the driver was taken to University Hospital in critical condition, but he's expected to survive.

>>Utah Schools Adapt To New Food Guidelines

(Undated) -- Lunch menus are changing as students head back to school across Utah. Because of new federal guidelines aimed at fighting obesity and teaching healthier eating habits, school districts are altering their menus. The Jordan School District tells KSTU-TV it's the biggest change in 15 years. She says the overall goal is not to count vitamins and minerals, but look at what is being served, like whole grains and more fruits and vegetables.
>>Colorado Professors Say Romney Is Next U.S. Prez

(Denver, CO) -- The U.S. will indeed have its very first Mormon-believing President this coming November. That prediction comes from two leading professors from the University of Colorado system who say presumptive Republican candidate Mitt Romney will without a doubt unseat Barack Obama for the U.S. presidency. Professors Kin Bickers at CU-Boulder and Michael Berry at CU-Denver have devised a model which uses current U.S. economic conditions to come up with their choice for President. The professors say they have used the same model to accurately predict every winner of the electoral college since 1980.

>>Utah Officials Say Stay Indoors To Battle Asthma

(Salt Lake City, UT) -- Utah health officials are issuing their recommendations for preventing the occurrence of asthma symptoms. Because of reports that more Utahns are suffering from asthma-like symptoms than usual the health department says it is best to simply avoid polluted air. Officials say patients are more likely to check into the emergency room for asthma during summer and winter. Experts say by staying indoors during periods of heavy-pollution can go far in reducing negative effects.

>>Herbert Wants I-15 Project Done By Thanksgiving

(Orem, UT) -- Utah Governor Gary Herbert is issuing a challenge to state transportation officials: get the Interstate 15 project finished by this Thanksgiving. Herbert toured the ongoing project yesterday before issuing his edict. The work on I-15 was scheduled to be finished by December and is already considered the fastest billion-dollar highway project in U.S. history.

>>Steel Mill Site Readied For Re-Development

(Vineyard, UT) -- A once-generous steel mill site in rural Utah will come to life for a second time. KSL-TV says officials with the former site of Geneva Steel in Vineyard in Salt Lake County are preparing the land for a massive redevelopment project. For more than 50-years the 17-hundred-acre mill was a productive maker of steel. Nearly one-thousand-acres of and have been designated for residential use once the cleanup is complete.

>>Granger High School Officials Show-Off New Digs

(Salt Lake County, UT) -- Officials at Granger High School are busy showing off what's to come when it opens next school year. Yesterday, the West Valley school showed off how far its come during its construction. When it goes online for the 2013-1014 school year Granger High will boast an indoor pool and a 15-hundred-seat auditorium. In case you haven't heard the name of the Granger High mascot is the "Lancer."

An East Carbon man who pleaded guilty to driving drunk and causing a crash that killed two Sandy women last year has been sentenced to prison for up to five years.
Darin Scott Hawkinson, 48, entered guilty pleas in June to two third-degree felony counts of automobile homicide in connection with the September 2011 deaths of Sharlene Atkinson, 64, and Lynnette Hulse, 63.