(Moab Utah) KCYN-KCPX News has learned that the US Department of Transportation Essential Air Service Subsidy for Moab and Vernal Utah Air Service is being awarded to SKYWEST Airlines. The grant was reportedly being prepared last week and released on Friday. Moab Canyon lands Airport Manager Kelly Braun says its great news…

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SkyWest spokesman says SkyWest is pleased to be selected to provide air service to Moab and Vernal.  He says the airline will be working closely with the community leaders in the coming weeks as we finalize our initial schedule and look forward to serving passengers in Eastern Utah.  The proposed SkyWest Moab Service will include two flights daily to and from Salt Lake City. Current air service to Denver provided by Great lake Airlines will be terminated when SkyWest takes over.

 

SALT LAKE CITY — The annual Christmas Devotional for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was held Sunday night at the Conference Center in downtown Salt Lake. The focus of the devotional was on the idea of giving rather than receiving. "Finding the real joy of Christmas comes not in the hurrying and the scurrying to get more done," LDS church President Thomas S. Monson said. "We find the real joy of Christmas when we make the savior the real focus of the season." LDS Primary general president Rosemary Wixom noted that common Christmas celebration is simply a reminder of what is special about the holiday.

DENVER—Authorities say Aron Ralston, who gains widespread attention when he cut off his forearm to free himself after becoming trapped by a dislodged boulder in a Utah canyon, has been arrested in Denver for domestic violence. The 38-year-old was booked into the Downtown Detention Center on Sunday on charges of assault and wrongs to minors. Police spokeswoman Raquel Lopez tells The Associated Press she can't release any details until she speaks with a domestic violence detective. Ralston was hiking in 2003 when he became trapped by a boulder and was forced to cut off his own arm to free himself. He went on to detail his struggles in a book, and his story was later adapted into the movie "127 Hours." Booking documents don't indicate if Ralston has an attorney. He's scheduled to appear in court

>>H1N1 Flu Strain Strong In Utah

(Salt Lake City, UT)  --  Utah health officials are advising residents to get their flu shots.  The H1N1 strain is making its way through parts of the state.  It's the same illness that spread throughout the country four years ago.  Rachelle Boulton with the state Department of Health tells the "Deseret News" it's already hitting the workforce age part of society.

 

 

 

>>Over 100 Crashes Reported From Weekend Storm

(Salt Lake City, UT)  --  More than 100 accidents are being reported statewide from a weekend snow storm.  The areas hardest hit were Utah, Weber and Davis counties.  A little more than a dozen were injury crashes.  Roads could still be slick this morning, as temperatures aren't expected to climb above freezing until later in the week.

WEBER COUNTY, Utah – A man was killed after a snowmobile accident in the area of the Monte Cristo Range Sunday afternoon.According to a press release from the Weber County Sheriff’s Office, personnel responded to the crash at 2:08 p.m.The accident occurred about five miles up from the snowmobile parking lot on Highway 39 in the area of Dry Bread.Officials with the Weber County Sheriff’s Office said the victim was a 22-year-old male who was stationed at Hill Air Force Base. The name of the victim has not been released.

According to the press release, a group of three airmen from HAFB and a civilian were out riding snowmobiles Sunday when the accident happened.“It’s a fairly steep embankment they were riding but it’s pretty common for people to ride that back to the road,” said Sgt. Lane Findlay of the Weber County Sheriff’s Department.Three individuals made it down, the fourth never arrived.The group moved back up the hill a few minutes later and located their friend, who had crashed and was pinned under the snowmobile. He was not breathing and did not have a pulse when he was found.

SOUTHERN UTAH — Traffic is slowly moving in the Virgin River Gorge after it was closed Saturday night, officials said Sunday afternoon.About 300 motorists were trapped in the gorge stretch on Interstate 15 between Mesquite, Nev. and St. George Saturday night, said spokesman Bart Graves for the Arizona Department of Public Safety.I-15 is now reopened in both directions, Arizona officials tweeted Sunday.Utah Department of Transportation had set up a hard closure on I-15 in Utah at exit 2 going south. All southbound traffic was re-routed into St. George, but traffic resumed moving in the area Sunday.The I-15 stretch was closed Saturday at midnight due to heavy snow and low visibility, Graves said.