Logan City Council grants new restaurant’s variance on alcohol laws, despite opposition

By Mark Rosa

On Tuesday, Logan’s newest restaurant Even Stevens got the nod from the Logan City council, undeterred by opposition from council and community members, to sell beer despite the restaurants close proximity to one of the town’s oldest religious sites.

Aislinn Grenny, Even Stevens controller, stood before the council and explained that the community location proximity requirement to sell alcohol dictates that the establishment must be no less than 200 feet from the property line of a church, school or community site.

Even Stevens backdoor is 195 feet from the property line of the Logan Tabernacle.

Grenny said, as she urged the council to grant the variance, the sandwich shop pairs its sandwiches with locally brewed beers and although this seems like a small part of the business, it is actually an integral aspect of the Even Stevens brand.

During the public forum regarding the variance, Logan Downtown Alliance members Gary Saxton and Mark Fjeldsted voiced their support for the new business as they spoke to the low-key nature of alcohol sales at other Even Stevens locations in the state.

Despite the general attitude of support, not every community member was in favor of the sandwich shop’s request. Derrick Sudweeks and Shanna Thompson, two Logan residents, explained their concerns.

“With Crumb Brothers being allowed last month and now Even Stevens, I feel we’re heading in the wrong direction,” Sudweeks said. “I think we need to hold true to the values of the community and to the people that we’re a God fearing people and that we do not consume alcohol.”

After ending the public forum, a familiar foe of alcohol, Logan City Councilman S.E. Gene Needham spoke up to share his moral qualms surrounding alcohol consumption in his hometown.

“I think it’s the wrong direction for the community and the wrong direction for downtown,” Needham said in opposition. “I don’t see any reason to perpetuate what is a human tragedy and a plague.”

In rebuttal to Needham’s remarks, Logan City Councilman Tom Jensen said the era in which these liquor laws were established was vastly different from today and that the laws have become outdated and inapplicable.

“Having an alcoholic drink with a sandwich, I don’t think there’s a threat in that situation,” said Jensen.

Although the restaurant owners must still go through the Utah Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission for full approval of their liquor license application, the council’s acceptance of the variance shows that the town is generally behind the restaurant and supports their request.

Utah’s TRUCE gives up on medical marijuana proposal for 2016

By Mark Rosa

Utah’s medical marijuana proponents will have to wait until next year to see a more comprehensive piece of legislation as the medical cannabis advocacy group Together for Responsible Use and Cannabis Education, or TRUCE, has officially ended the push to get their proposal to legalize medical cannabis on the ballot this November.

Candy Wagner, secretary and spokeswoman for TRUCE, said the group would be cutting it too close in getting the signatures necessary to get the initiative on the floor by November.

Wagner said if the group wasn’t able to get their petition signed in time they wouldn’t be able to release another proposal until 2018. By waiting until next year, Wagner believes, they can come back stronger with support from lawmakers and a sponsor.

Wagner said she is hopeful that next year’s proposal will have broader acceptance because medical cannabis legislation has been picking up steam in Utah in attempts to help with the state’s prescription opiate addiction epidemic.

Although TRUCE members believe the legalization of medical cannabis would help thousands of people here in Utah, local law enforcement sees the prospect of legalizing cannabis as a problem.

Logan City Police Capt. Curtis Hooley said not only is medical cannabis legalization a violation of federal drug laws but will bring a wave of crime and violence to the state that lawmakers aren’t foreseeing.

“I think the unwanted and unexpected consequences will outweigh the number of people who actually benefit from marijuana,” said Hooley. “Legal or not, an increase in production of marijuana in the state will bring potentially dangerous situations to residents.”

“You see it in Colorado all the time,” said Hooley. “Marijuana is a cash crop that’s mostly unregulated and its worth more on the black market. That makes legal marijuana growers and businesses a target for criminals.”

Hooley said he’s glad Utah will not be voting this year to legalize cannabis because that gives lawmakers and law enforcement more time to watch and learn from Colorado, Washington and Oregon in order to prepare themselves for the negative consequences that might be associated with medical cannabis legalization. 

Smithfield couple arrested for smoking meth with their child in the car

By Mark Rosa

On March 25, Cache Rich Drug Task Force officers arrived at the residence of Christopher and Nancy Olague in Smithfield where they discovered the couple smoking methamphetamine in their car − with their 1-year-old child in the backseat.

Logan City Police Capt. Curtis Hooley said probation officers went to the Olague residence to conduct a parolee home visit and upon finding evidence of drug use contacted the drug task force.

As task force agents approached the vehicle, Christopher attempted to swallow the drugs and later required treatment by paramedics.

Hooley said that a search of the vehicle resulted in the discovery of an ounce of meth and one-eighth of an ounce of heroin.

The child, who is just over one year old, was taken into protective custody by the Division of Child and Family services where it subsequently tested positive for methamphetamine.

"Unfortunately, when people get involved with meth and heroin their desire for that drug is so strong that they don't always think about those that are around them or to protect their children," Hooley said. "It's very unfortunate."

Logan City Police Sgt. Alan Hodges said the couple faces nine charges between them including two counts of possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute, possession of a dangerous weapon by a restricted person and child endangerment.

USU street painting tradition promotes homecoming spirit

 By Mark Rosa  10/2/15 

Forty Utah State University organizations met at the corner of Aggie Boulevard and 800 East on Tuesday for the annual homecoming week street painting event. This year the Utah State University Student Association traditions committee appointed a panel of judges to grade the groups' paintings and hand out three new awards.

Clubs, organizations, sports teams, sororities and fraternities displayed their artistic skills and created street murals depicting the spirit of their groups and USU.

“In the past it’s been kind of like are we doing judging, or are we not doing judging?” said Stephanie Brooksby, the faculty program coordinator of the street painting event. “But this year it was like we are doing judging, we have judges set up, we have three new awards that they’re going to be judged on.”

The paintings were judged on individual criteria for each of the three new awards: the Aggie Spirit award, the Aggie Creative award and the Go Blue or Go Home award.

The Aggie Spirit award was presented to the Dominican Student Association for the depiction of the students’ process of coming to America and the university. Brooksby said the judges chose the DSA’s painting because it told a great story.

The Aggie Climbing Club took the Aggie Creative award for turning its 10 feet by 10 feet square into the side of a mountain with a climber scaling the face.

The top award of the night was the Go Blue or Go Home award, which shared its name with the 2015 homecoming week theme. The award was given to the Kappa Delta sorority for best exemplifying the overall spirit of the week. The sorority’s mural included the “Block A” on which, students stand and kiss on True Aggie Night and a constellation spelling out “Go Blue or Go Home” and “K.D.” for Kappa Delta.

The USUSA Traditions committee is in charge of putting on four main events a year including homecoming. The goal of the committee is to get new students excited about long-standing university traditions and spread the spirit of tradition throughout campus.

“I think that’s one of the best parts of being a traditions director is just bringing back the traditions that make us Aggies so unique,” said Alexander Aburto, the USUSA traditions director and coordinator of the street painting event.

                      

National Alcohol Screening Day to raise awareness and identify those at risk

By Mark Rosa

On Wednesday, Utah State University’s Counseling and Psychological Services and Student Health and Wellness Center hosted a National Alcohol Screening Day event to spread awareness about alcoholism and assess the student, faculty and staff’s risk of alcohol dependency.

Charles Bentley, a psychologist at USU CAPS said the event centered around a survey based on the Alcohol Disorders Identification Test which is scored to determine the individual’s level of dependence on alcohol and risk of alcohol dependency.

“With alcohol the two things that can actually get people in trouble are chronic use and binge drinking,” Bentley said. “This screen asks questions about the frequency and amount you drink, and it also asks some basic questions to determine your risk factors.”

Bentley said that universities across the country participate in national alcohol screening day in an attempt to raise awareness of the risks of alcohol on a national scale.

Although the event’s attendance was low, Ryan Barfuss, the substance abuse prevention specialist at USU said that the attendance of the event was representative of the drinking population of USU, under 20 percent. Barfuss said that despite the sparse attendance, what they were doing was important.

“Every year we get five or six people that come in that need help with their drinking,” Barfuss said. “The goal today is to screen that one person or multiple people who need help but also to raise awareness.”

Drug overdose declared a public health emergency in Utah

By, Mark Rosa

On Friday, Gov. Gary Herbert signed a concurrent resolution declaring drug overdose a public health emergency in the state of Utah and strongly urges Utah’s Department of Health, Department of Public Safety and Department of Human Services to immediately direct resources to address the crisis.

The resolution sponsored by Rep. Carol Spackman Moss and Sen. Brian E. Shiozawa says that Utah ranks fourth in the nation for drug overdose and first in the nation for drug overdose by a military veteran.

Samantha Easthope, the addiction recovery management program manager for Utah Support Advocates for Recovery Awareness, said that from 2000 to 2014 Utah saw a 400 percent increase in deaths due to the abuse or misuse of drugs and that more people are killed by overdose than by falls, firearms and motor vehicle accidents combined.

Emily Carver, a medication assisted treatment coordinator and case manager for Weber Human Services, said that the majority of fatal overdoses in the state are caused by prescription pain medications such as hydrocodone or oxycodone.

Carver is hopeful that support from the resolution funneled into a sustainable, comprehensive public health plan focused on education will result in significant decreases in the number of drug overdose deaths in Utah.

Man calls police on his own marijuana grow operation and production lab

By Mark Rosa

Logan Police deputies discovered a 69 plant cannabis grow operation and THC concentration lab when they arrived at the rental home of Benjamin Benavidez in Young Ward on Friday, at his request to peacefully escort his brother Samuel Benavidez off the property.

Lt. Mike Peterson of the Cache County Sheriff’s Office said deputies smelled cannabis on the Benavidez brothers and gained written consent to search the home. Upon discovering marijuana the deputies secured the location and contacted The Cache-Rich drug task force.

Within 40 minutes task force agents obtained a search warrant and found live cannabis plants, 28 pounds of dried cannabis flowers and a chemically concentrated form of THC known as butane honey oil.

Capt. Curtis Hooley of the Logan Police Department said task force agents found a major production lab intended to concentrate dried cannabis plant material into a more chemically pure and potent form of the psychoactive component found in cannabis, Tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC.

The finished product of the concentration lab found at the Benavidez rental property was a specific cannabis-derivative called butane honey oil, which possesses a THC content four times higher than dried cannabis flower.

Hooley explained that this is the first concentration and production lab he has ever seen and that the emergence of these types of labs into the valley is concerning for the safety of local residents.

“I’m most concerned that they’re manufacturing the THC out of the marijuana through a process that is really quite explosive,” Hooley said. “They use butane to do that and it’s actually caused a quite a few explosions if you look at Colorado.”

Both men were taken into custody but have been released on bail.

Benjamin Benavidez faces felony possession of marijuana, possession with intent to distribute and production of a controlled substances charges.

Samuel Benavidez faces charges of use or possession of drug paraphernalia.