Utah State News Service

By Jessica Dryden Twenty dogs displaced by the Louisiana flooding crisis are heading to Utah, where they will be taken in by staff at the Cache Humane Society in Logan. The four-legged refugees were formerly housed at Acadiana Humane Society in Lafayette, Louisiana. That shelter is currently underwater according to Stacey Frisk, the interim director at Cache Humane Society.  “It will be a bit of a tight fit,” Frisk said of available space at her shelter, “but we have fantastic adoption rates in Cache County.” The dogs will be safe in Utah. Cache Humane Society is part of a coalition called No Kill Utah, an initiative led by Best Friends Animal Society that works to prevent stray animals from being killed.  “As coalition members, we pull dogs from Utah shelters all the time," Frisk said. "Best Friends reached out to us and asked if we would reserve some space for these Louisiana dogs displaced by the flooding.” Acadiana Animal Aid is sponsoring the c...

By Matilyn Mortensen Utah Department of Transportation planners have honed in on a road configuration they believe will improve safety and efficiency — and pass environmental muster — when a heavily trafficked Northern Utah highway is updated in coming years. Local officials, though, say UDOT’s road of choice prioritizes the protection of two acres of wetlands over human lives. State Road 30, which runs north of the Wellsville Mountains connecting Logan to Interstate 15, is narrow and, in many places, has no shoulder. Road improvements will include 12 foot paved shoulders on either side and a 14 foot center lane with a concrete median. UDOT officials have proposed merging the highway into two lanes as it passes through a stretch of Bear River wetlands. At a meeting on Monday, though, the local leaders said they’d like the highway to include two lanes running in either direction the entire way — and pointed out that any required merging would likely increase crashes in the of...

By Jacob Olson  In preparation for the renovation of the historic Old Rock Church in Providence, owner Ralph Call is about to begin restoring a bungalow that sits on the same property. The bungalow, which was made into a bed-and-breakfast by the property’s previous owner, stands just a few feet away from the church. The upper rooms were transformed by the former owner and now the bungalow’s basement will be furnished into rooms. Additionally, the two suites on the main floor will receive an additional bed each, manager Kip Gilley said. Call said he expects the bungalow to be completed by the end of summer, making room for the work on the church to begin. The church, which was finished in 1871, was bought four years ago by Call, who was worried that it might be torn down and was determined to preserve its “historical value.” The church’s chapel, which is used as an event center, will be restored to look like it was when it was first built.  Gilley expects...

By Ayanna Likens  The Cache County Council is considering a request to transfer an acre of property to Weber County. If approved, the land transfer — which would cede a plot of land near the Powder Mountain ski resort — would mark the first time the county has moved its boundaries since the 1980s. Council members, though, have expressed skepticism about the request. Craig Sears, a property manager and construction company owner, proposed the transfer to the council on Tuesday, explaining that there is “a misfit lot” on the county boundary lines. An acre of the lot is on the Cache County side and 3.46 acres are in Weber County. “If we don’t move the boundary it will become wasted land,” Sears said. “It is an irregular-shaped lot, so by moving the acre into the Weber boundary we would be able to make something great out of it.” Sears said he hopes to see the lot transformed into a housing development, noting the property enhancements would benefit the schools in the a...

By Ford Rasmussen  A musical score that premiered in Utah on Sunday got enthusiastic reviews from its composer, who said it was the best performance in the history of the 12-year-old piece. The piece, “Variationes Alchemisticae,” commissioned by the Chamber of Music Palisades, has been performed dozens of times, American composer Byron Adams said. He has been present at about 10 of the performances, in places such as Colorado, Los Angeles and England. Adams, who had never been to Utah before, attended Utah State’s Museum and Music concert at the Caine Performance Hall on Sunday. The concert’s musicians consisted of members from the Utah Symphony and the Fry Street Quartet. “There have been no better performances, and it was beautiful in every way,” said Adams, who sat on the upper aisle closest to the stage during the event. The Utah-based musicians “internalized” the work, Adams said, and excelled in their attention to dynamics. Austin Chadw...

By Sophia Blankmeyer In the wake of a suicide attempt by a woman who stopped taking medication for her bipolar disorder when she became pregnant, police and psychologists in Northern Utah are warning against the arbitrary discontinuation of psychotropic medications. Logan police officers arrived at the home of the 21-year-old woman Tuesday morning after receiving tips from her boyfriend and mother. “They had to kick down the door,” said Capt. Tyson Budge. When the officers arrived they noticed an empty pill bottle and razor by her bed. The 16-weeks-pregnant woman told officers she had sought to overdose on Celexa, an antidepressant, because she did not want to deal with life anymore.  While women may have valid concerns about taking prescription medications during pregnancy, psychologists say shifts away of such medications should only be made in consultation with a doctor. The emotional turbulence of pregnancy can be a particularly challenging ti...

By Lauren Bennett  To convince lawmakers of the dire need for more mental health providers at Utah State University’s regional campuses, student leaders are hoping to demonstrate the issue is being taken seriously by fellow learners across the state. To that end, a vote scheduled for this week on whether to raise student fees by $15 could prove crucial. “It’ll probably take a couple years before the state will increase any funding to address the problem,” said David Bush, a licensed psychologist and the director of the university’s Counseling and Psychological Services office. “But more immediately we thought, well, this year we can at least show the state that the students are willing to put their money where their mouth is.” Bailee Bird, the student executive vice president for the university’s Uintah Basin campus, said increased awareness of where the money will go is vital, because students typically are wary of fees.  “The term ‘adding a fee’ is kind of freaky ...