(Washington/Salt Lake)- Members of Utah’s congressional delegation and Utah’s Governor, were quick to respond after President Barack Obama held a press conference, announcing he wants to allow people to keep old health plans that don’t meet standards set by the Affordable Care Act. Governor Gary Herbert said the President never consulted the nation’s governors…

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Republican Congressman Jason Chaffetz appeared on Fox News within twenty minutes of the President’s Press Conference.

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“I represent 800,000 people. We think we have some ideas to contribute, Mr. President,” said Chaffetz, suggesting the president was fixing a law that should be scrapped and replaced.

Senator Orrin Hatch released a statement within the same hour, saying the President was making another promise doomed to failure.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Authorities say a convicted felon who eluded Utah police in the Moab area during a 2005 manhunt by hiding in the woods tried to do the same thing over the weekend in Colorado, after killing two people and wounding another. Kenneth Foy Lankford is accused of fatally shooting his 51-year-old wife, Terry, inside the couple's home in the Black Forest area northeast of Colorado Springs, according to El Paso County Sheriff's Lt. Jeff Kramer. Investigators believe Lankford is also responsible for the shooting death of Carol Fowler, 51, and the wounding of her 52-year-old husband, Thomas, inside their nearby home. In 2005, police in Moab tried to arrest Lankford on a warrant for a parole violation. He managed to elude officers by fleeing into the woods near the Moab sloughs along the Colorado River.

>>Convicted Killer MacNeill Now Faces Sexual Abuse Charges

(Provo, UT)  --  Convicted killer Martin MacNeill will be in a Provo court Monday to answer sexual abuse charges.  It stems from accusations from his daughter Alexis Somers in the months after her mother's 2007 death.  MacNeill was convicted last weekend of murdering his wife Michele and will be sentenced in that case early next year.  He's charged with forcible sex abuse and tampering with a witness in the other case.

>>Boeing Looking At Utah For Airliner Project

(Salt Lake City, UT)  --  Airliner giant Boeing may be bringing some high-tech jobs to the state.  Company officials met with Governor Herbert yesterday to gauge interest in the company's 777X airliner project.  Herbert says it makes a lot of sense due to the business climate in the state, as well as the economics involved for Boeing.  Union workers in Washington state have already rejected a long-term contract which would have put the project there.

>>LDS Church To Expand Training Center

(Provo, UT)  --  The LDS Church is expanding its Missionary Training Center in Provo.  It will extend the facility to the south, forcing BYU to make some changes to its own structuring.  Church officials say they have to make the move to accommodate the expanding program at the MTC.  BYU will have to move its laundry facility and one other building.

>>Youth Home Employee Accused Of Sexual Abuse

(Spanish Fork, UT)  --  A Spanish Fork youth center employee is facing charges over the alleged sexual abuse of two girls.  Prosecutors say 59-year-old Wade Russell inappropriately touched two 14-year-old girls in custody at the juvenile detention center.  A job evaluation for Russell shows he was warned against unsupervised contact with the young female residents.  The girls went to youth center officials last week with the allegations.

>>Comic Con Organizers Announced Two Events For 2014

(Salt Lake City, UT)  --  Comic book fans will have not one, but two events to look forward to next year.  Organizers have announced the Salt Lake Comic Con, running from September 4th through the 6th.  It will be held at the Salt Palace Convention Center.  This year's sell-out crowds prompted producers to bring it back for a second year.  Those not willing to wait for the festivities will be able to see the FanXperience, which runs from April 17th through the 19th. 

>>Activists Want Incinerator Boycott

(Salt Lake County, UT)  --  Activists are calling on healthcare providers in the state to boycott sending medical waste to Stericycle's North Salt Lake incinerator.  They say there are safer ways to get rid of the items that include syringes and infectious material.  The advocates again called for the governor to shut down the facility.

>>Law Would Allow Erasing "Stupid" Comments

(Salt Lake City, UT)  --  Utah state Senator Todd Weiler is proposing a law to let teens erase unwanted online social media postings.  KSTU reports Weiler says "if a kid posts something stupid on Facebook" Weiler says they should be able to erase it before applying for a job or college.  He says he'll compare his proposal to an existing law in California.  One computer expert says it's almost impossible to completely get rid of posts, adding companies can't "go out and delete the archived versions of these posts from other websites."

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>>Utah Group Wants Missouri Execution Stopped

(Undated)  --  The NAACP's Salt Lake Branch is urging Missouri's governor to stop the execution of a racist killer.  Branch President Jeanetta Williams says the estimated three-million dollars to execute Joseph Paul Franklin can be better used for social needs and crime victims.  Franklin got the death sentence for a 1997 murder outside a Missouri synagogue and is scheduled to die next week.  He also killed two people in Salt Lake in 1980 and has admitted or been convicted of other killings.  He's said the murders came out of his hatred for Jews and the mixing of the white and African American races.

>>Pot Bust At Traffic Stop

(Park City, UT)  --  Park City police are reporting a drug bust at a traffic stop found more than 50 pounds of marijuana.  The sedan was stopped near Coalville Wednesday evening during a combined drug enforcement on Interstate 80.  The Wisconsin driver was taken to Summit County Jail.

 

Grand County (10-1) vs. South Summit (10-1), 4 p.m. Saturday » Jacob Francis, the Red Devils quarterback, has returned from injury, and he helped lead the team past North Summit in the semifinals. Francis teams with Koi Cook to form a lethal offensive running attack. The Wildcats also like to keep it on the ground. A steady diet of Colby Averett and Ty Jones lead the way. This game likely will come down to who is more effective on the ground, who can churn out more yards. The Red Devils are seeking their second state title (2005), while the Wildcats are after their fifth crown but first since 1988

 

Poetic is perhaps the best way to describe the matchup in the 2A championship game at Weber State University.

Grand County and South Summit will play for the 2A title at 4 p.m. on Saturday, and the two teams share more than just the game at hand.

In 2011, tragedy struck the Wildcats and the Kamas community when then-junior Porter Hancock was paralyzed in a freak accident when he suffered a dislocated neck after tackling an opposing player.

The Red Devils visited two weeks later for the first round of the 2A playoffs with a check for Hancock in hand.

This season, Grand County and all of Moab lost sophomore Sam Woodruff, who died unexpectedly between practices on the first day of two-a-days. South Summit head coach Jerry Parker and his team reacted with a fundraiser of their own.

“I don’t think people understand how difficult it really is on teams and coaches, knowing how to both grieve and focus on the season,” Parker said. “It was our way to give back. We were glad that we could do something.”

Both Parker and Grand County assistant coach Ron Dolphin appreciate the greater significance of playing one another for the title.

“It is poetic,” said Dolphin, “that the two teams so willing to help each other during times of despair now have an opportunity to meet on the field of battle.”

In their final week of practice, both teams are going through their preparation routines one last time. Parker noted a size difference between the two squads as well as the experience of the Grand County seniors.

“(In 2011) we played these kids as sophomores and they were all starting. Now they’re core seniors,” Parker said. “They have a bunch of returners and their coach (Dennis Wells) does such a good job in the playoffs. (Seeing Grand County in the championship game) doesn’t surprise me at all.”

The programs are also embracing each moment leading up to the big game.

“It’s been a good feeling this week; there is a great spirit in our community,” Dolphin said, noting the windows of businesses have been painted red and white throughout Moab.

“The boys are just enjoying every moment,” he said. “They are asking for one more rep, one more run through. They are soaking this up.”

Dolphin added that, in addition to playing for a state title, the two teams are, together, playing for something more.

“This is a chance to show character, grit, and commitment to something bigger than the game of football,” he said. “It is a fitting end to the season.”