More than 1,000 students and parents attended Westlake High School's Parent/Student Information Night on Jan. 22 and brought together a sizable portion of the new school's future student body for its opening 2009-2010 school year.

Balloons in Westlake's school colors of light blue, navy blue and gold decorated the entry at Willowcreek Middle School, which hosted the information meeting.

The new Alpine School District high school building is under construction in Saratoga Springs, and Openshaw and his staff are working just as diligently as the facility contractor to build an educational environment for the school.

"We're about halfway as far as hiring teachers right now," said Westlake secretary Natalie Clark.

Beside planning their classes for next year, students at information night had a chance to start forging a future climate for the school.

Many students who attended the meeting showed their school spirit by wearing the light blue Westlake T-shirts they had received at earlier assemblies. Beneath posters depicting lightning bolts and proclaiming school mascot slogans, "Home of the Thunder," "You've been Thunderstruck," and "Feel the Thunder," students greeted their friends and traded recommendations on which sessions to attend.

During four 25-minute sessions, students and their parents had an opportunity to meet with registration advisors, college representatives and extracurricular activity advisors and coaches. Presenters offered information on advanced placement courses, concurrent enrollment, Mountainland Applied Technology College classes, ACT assessment, scholarships and financial aid.

"It's been very informative. Learning about the MATC classes is really helpful for us," said Maela Jacobsen, who went to the meeting with her daughters, Missy and Marcie.

"It's really exciting," said Missy Jacobsen.

Teachers and advisors radiated enthusiasm about the challenge of beginning a new school.

"What's exciting is that we're going to build brand new traditions for our community," said Physical Science Department Chairman Donald Bastian.

"I want to give everyone an opportunity to learn and grow both in class and in shows," said drama teacher, Amy Morrey.

Future Westlake High School students who are attending Lehi High School or Willowcreek Middle School have already been invited to two Westlake start-up assemblies.

"One was an introduction 'this is who we are' kind of assembly. The other dealt with registration," said Clark.

According to Clark, the enrollment estimate for Westlake High School is 1,300 students, but individual students' decisions will factor into the total. Current 10th- and 11th-graders attending Lehi High School have the choice of continuing at Lehi through graduation even if they live within Westlake boundaries.

Westlake's boundaries include students who will be attending next year in grades 9-12 living west of the Jordan River, including Saratoga Springs, Eagle Mountain and Cedar Valley and some Lehi residents.

"Students need to keep in mind, though, that if they live out-of-area from their chosen school, no transportation will be provided," Clark said. Students who decide to attend a school outside their residential geographical boundaries are required to turn in a completed out-of-area form with both principals' signatures by Feb. 27.

Registration forms can be turned in Jan. 29 and Feb. 3 from 5 to 8 p.m. at Willowcreek Middle School. Counselors will be available both nights to assist in class placement, credit evaluation and transition.

Additional information about Westlake High School is available at http://westlake.alpinedistrict.org or 801-756-1861.

Eagle Mountain is looking to legalize some off-road vehicle access, vowing to then crack down on anyone who continues to ride outside the law.

A handful of ranchette owners who live along the city's rural Lake Mountain Road attended a special meeting with the mayor to discuss nascent and already controversial plans to designate trails for off-road vehicles.

Before the meeting, residents said they already fight a continuous battle trying to get illegal riders off their property -- most ranchette owners here have five-acre lots or larger. Owners said they were concerned that the city's plan to build an OHV trail on a city-owned easement between their homes would only exacerbate problems with dust, trespassing and noise.

Residents did not come to Tuesday's meeting unprepared. They brought maps showing the city where they felt trails could be built on Bureau of Land Management land far from their homes.

"I'm glad you came up with good solutions for me, thank you," Mayor Jackson told homeowners after examining their maps and suggested alternate routes. "I want us to find something that makes everybody happy and really solves the problem."

The problems have been going on for a decade. As the city's population has increased, a rural area has urbanized, and off-highway vehicle users have increased even though it is illegal to ride in city limits. Sheriff's deputies at the meeting said they do all they can.

"I don't want your property damaged any more than you want your property damaged," the mayor told homeowners. "Unfortunately, it is really difficult to police all that with the number of people that use them."

Jackson said she is also looking at separate trails for hikers, mountain bikers and horse riders.

Residents were skeptical when Jackson said she wanted to launch an education campaign with the new trails to show people where it is -- and is not -- legal to ride.

"Education is great but we have been trying to educate these riders for ten blessed years," said resident Jody Hooley.

Sheriff's deputies described one area near homes here as "Little Moab," noting that all of it is privately owned property and everyone riding there is doing so illegally.

"Channel them away from us," said Hooley, showing city officials on a map where residents would prefer access to trails on BLM land be located. "I have been nice for ten blessed years [talking to illegal riders] and it has not gotten me anywhere."

"They rip our fencing in half and ride through anyway," said Marcie Taylor. "They come up in trucks and haul our firewood right out. They steal our "No trespassing" signs. And there is major dumping. It is unreal what they are dumping -- wood, mattresses, barbecues, old washers, all kinds of crap. We've had them come right in and shoot. We've had bullets going through our trees, shooting over at our house with shotguns."

At the end of the meeting some residents said they were pleased with the city's willingness to look at moving proposed OHV accesses away from homes, but said they will not be mollified until the city acts on residents' suggestions.

Paintings, china, glass, jewelry, weapons and more poured into Camp Floyd State Park on Saturday as the Utah Antique Dealers Association hosted a benefit appraisal show.

The best "treasure" of the day was a set of illustrations from a famous children's author that were valued at several thousand dollars, although to protect the owner's privacy the appraisers would not reveal who the author/artist was, or even the city of residence of the owner.

"She was astounded; I think we surprised her," said Nate Bischoff of Bearcat Antiques & Appraisals of the owner of the illustrations.

Monet Lion of Eagle Mountain brought a genie's lamp.

"As a kid in the 1950s I used to go down and rub it in the formal living room to see if the genie would come out," she said with a laugh.

It never did, but that may be because, according to Bischoff, the pewter object is actually a cigar lamp, made in Germany in the art nouveau style between 1900 and 1915. This information surprised Lion, who said she didn't believe there was anyone in her family line that smoked.

Lion also brought a piece of Prussian porcelain from the same time period, valued at $20 because of its poor condition, and a cameo locket hand-carved from shell in Italy around 1930, valued at $75.

"It's been in my jewelry box for 50 years," she said.

"It would cost more to buy a new one in Italy now," said appraiser Gary Thompson of Gary Thompson Antiques & Art.

Thompson said his favorite piece of the day was a blue glass pitcher in the shape of a pig sitting up. As soon as he saw it he assumed it was a modern reproduction, but it turned out to be more than a century old, made in Germany and valued at $250.

Vivian Glaeser of Stansbury Park, near Tooele, brought in about a dozen paintings, one of which she had bought at a yard sale for $15 that was valued at about $300 on Saturday. She also brought in a piece of 1950s Venetian blue glass, collected in Italy by her relatives, in the shape of half an apple. It was valued at $50.

Glaeser learned that two tapestries she inherited were worth about $200 together, and she said she planned to sell them, while other pieces of art she said she would keep.

Louwane VanSoolen of Alpine traveled about an hour each way to bring a tiny tea kettle charm that had been made from a penny, and part of the penny was still visible on the kettle's bottom.

"I've had it since I was a little tiny girl," she said.

"Sometimes silversmiths and jewelers would make these things to show off what they could do," said Thompson, who valued the piece at $40.

All told, about 70 items were appraised, raising nearly $200 for the park's education fund, staffers said.

STROUSE SAID she is grateful for "friends and family members who never doubted my innocence." Her experience has taught her who her friends and enemies really are, she said.

"I could write a book," Strouse said at the beginning of a two-hour phone interview from her new home in Washington on Thursday. "This is my chance to be publicly exonerated."

Others are not so sure.

"I have learned that Linn is not a reliable source of information," said Councilman David Lifferth late Thursday, responding to questions regarding his part in her saga.

Strouse says she has spent "over $30,000 being falsely accused and ensnared in the legal system for well over a year."

"Like other good people and public servants before me in Eagle Mountain, I have been targeted by the political machine for upholding my oath of office," she said. "I've continually fought to protect the rights of citizens and their interests by standing up against certain unscrupulous developers and land speculators."

A two-term councilwoman, Strouse was charged on Sept. 20, 2007 with prohibited personal use of office, a second-degree felony, after receiving $10,000 from developer John Walden. The charge was dropped.

A name both revered and reviled in Eagle Mountain, Walden earned himself a fortune by turning monolithic tracts of dry farm in Cedar Valley into one of the fastest growing cities in Utah -- Eagle Mountain.

Prosecutor Jason Sant has said the state would have needed to prove that Strouse was not fair and impartial in carrying out her duties as a result of the money she received. As part of a deal this month to drop the charge, Strouse paid $7,500 to Walden, a requirement she vehemently condemned on Thursday. She said it was unclear how the figure had been arrived at.

"They could not get me on a real charge," Strouse said. "By forcing me to pay $7,500 to John Walden, it still allows a public hanging in the media."

At one point prosecutors were investigating Strouse for bribery, she said, and Walden was not being investigated.

"If I was accused of taking a bribe, where is the briber? The Orwellian double-speak from the prosecutor's office to the news essentially hung me in the press and exonerated John Walden, in my opinion."

Big check

In 2002 Strouse was elected to the Eagle Mountain City Council -- "with no developer contributions, by the way," she said. In 2004 she was re-elected, and weeks later her husband, David, was diagnosed with the lung cancer that ultimately took his life. That was Nov. 4, 2005; he was 58.

In the first weeks of July 2005, Strouse left her 35-year career as a medical technician to be at her husband's side. It was at this time that her husband mentioned one day that Sen. Mark Madsen, R-Eagle Mountain, was coming by the house to drop off what Strouse recalls her husband describing as donations from the community.

By her account, when Madsen arrived he came into the kitchen and handed her an envelope containing a $10,000 cashier's check. Madsen said little and appeared to be in a hurry, according to Strouse.

Madsen remembers it very differently. According to him in a Friday interview, Strouse was in financial straits and had asked Walden for money urgently. Madsen said he didn't take the money to Strouse's home; his wife did.

According to Strouse, though, it was not until many months later, in the midst of a scandal over the money, that she realized that in a corner of the check "in tiny letters" was written the word "loan."

Madsen never mentioned that the money was a loan, nor did he ever disclose where the money had come from, Strouse said; nor in the many months that ensued did anyone contact her about repayment, or mention the money as a loan.

Madsen says the opposite. He recalled that he visited Strouse after his wife had dropped off the check, and Strouse was nervous because she had accepted the money.

"What will people say about John giving me a contribution?" Madsen recalled Strouse asking. He said he replied: "Your enemies will do what they can to harm you." Madsen said he specifically told Strouse that day "not to break the law" and that Walden was just "one of many people helping you."

Although the amount of money was sizable, Strouse said, it did not surprise her because she knew that Madsen had helped another woman whose husband had died, even building that woman a house.

"He had done amazing things with fundraising," Strouse said. She said she cried at the gift, believing it to be donations from friends and neighbors. She cashed the check and used it to help pay medical expenses.

Strouse was emphatic that she never approached anyone for a loan or even for a gift of money. She said she was never in any danger of losing her home, as has been reported, and had never missed a mortgage payment. She and her husband had adequate medical insurance and spent just under $10,000 out of pocket for David's year-long medical ordeal.

"I find it incredibly ridiculous to be accused of asking for a loan when I could have walked down to my 401k and pulled out a lot more than $10,000," she said.

She said she never had any inkling that the money had come entirely from John Walden.

Walden released a statement to the Daily Herald late Thursday. Then on Friday he released a second, more detailed account of his dealings with Strouse.

In Walden's account, he was approached by Strouse and her husband soon after her husband was diagnosed with cancer, and the couple asked for a $10,000 loan "to finish their basement in order to accommodate a hospice nurse and to create rental space that would generate much-needed income."

Walden said he sat in the couple's living room and could "see the anxiety in both their faces."

Strouse, who called Walden's version "nonsense," said her husband did not go into hospice until four days before he died. She claims Walden has never been in her home.

According to Walden, Strouse and her husband said they would pay back the loan with the proceeds of a life insurance policy after David died.

"I was happy to loan her the money when her husband was dying, but regret that she failed to disclose the loan to the city council," Walden said in the written statement. "I would prefer to have received this money in a thank-you note, rather than having Linn forced to do so through charges of alleged misconduct. The whole thing has been a tragedy. I wish her all the best in the future."

The statement was released through former Eagle Mountain chief of staff Mike Wren, who for a time was at the center of a revolt that drove then-Mayor Strouse into virtual hiding as the city council tried to remove her from office.

A "witch hunt"

For months, the money remained off the political radar, unknown to the public. But then the day came when Eagle Mountain Mayor Brian Olsen suddenly resigned in the face of allegations that he misused public funds. On Oct. 22, 2006, Linn Strouse was chosen by a council vote to be the city's interim mayor. (Olsen was later acquitted by a jury.)

Strouse would call what followed a "witch hunt."

Upon becoming mayor, Strouse fired Wren as chief of staff. But Wren also served as the city's public works director. Fired from one job, he was put on paid administrative leave in his public works capacity.

That ignited a firestorm among city staff and the council. Staffers said Strouse had told them that the council had ratified the move. Council members said they had not received any advance notice, only learning of what Strouse had done from staffers.

At the time, Strouse said only that the firing was "a personnel matter" and referred to "confusion based on the responsibilities of the chief of staff's position."

Before she fired Wren, Strouse said she had a meeting with him to discuss what she called "concerns." Within days, Walden was in her office, she said.

She said Walden tried to chastise her for how she was treating Wren, and said that Walden implied that the Utah County Attorney would view the $10,000 she'd received as a bribe, because it came from him.

"So needless to say, I escorted him out," Strouse said.

Walden's written statement paints a different picture. "I asked her if everything worked out as planned and if the proceeds from the life insurance policy were available to repay the loan," said Walden in his statement to the Herald. "I was prepared to forgive the loan, but her reaction to my question was hostile. At that point I wrote off the loan as an unrecoverable."

"Oh my gosh, oh my gosh," said Strouse when she read Walden's statement. "That's absolute nonsense."

On Nov. 10, 2006, one year to the day from her husband's burial, Strouse was told by city staff that Councilman David Lifferth had filed a statement with the city and the county attorney alleging that Strouse had accepted $10,000 from Walden and failed to disclose the money.

Strouse said she had no idea how Lifferth knew about the check, or how he had determined that it came from Walden. She said she immediately called the city attorney, who, according to Strouse, later assured her she had nothing to worry about.

Lifferth told the Herald on Thursday that he had first learned about the money when, during a meeting, an "erratic" Strouse "made some very bizarre statements" that she had been threatened by a developer.

Lifferth said he immediately called every developer in the city. That is when Walden told him about the money, Lifferth said.

"I was noticeably caught off guard by something that had been covered up for a long time," Lifferth said.

Lifferth sent a letter to city council members telling them what he had learned, saying the matter must be investigated or he would go to the county attorney, which he eventually did.

Within days the city staff and the council, angry about Wren's firing, rebelled against Strouse, holding an emergency meeting on Nov. 3 to attempt to strip Strouse of her mayoral power. Strouse exited City Hall 20 minutes before the meeting, which, in a legal curiosity, prevented the council from acting. At 10 p.m. that night, she issued a statement denying that she was hiding to intentionally disrupt the council's attempt to remove her from office.

Today Strouse speaks more openly. "I knew what they were doing and I wasn't going to give them an opportunity to finish the mutiny they were trying to induce," she said.

Strouse remained secluded for days. A special meeting of the council had to be abandoned when only two council members showed up. Strouse ventured into City Hall only once, according to council members, and left essential business undone, without required mayor's signatures. On Nov. 15, 2006, the council voted for a new mayor and Strouse became a council member once again, though she was soundly defeated in the election later that year.

In March 2007, the city confirmed that a council member was under investigation by county attorneys, but refused to say who or what the investigation focused on. At the time, Strouse denied that she was involved.

Strouse said she first learned she was being investigated after Lifferth posted a document from the county attorney on his blog.

On Sept. 20, 2007, Strouse, still a member of the city council, was charged with the second-degree felony.

"Embarrassing"

Asked to comment about the prosecutor's decision this month to drop the charge against Strouse, Lifferth said that Strouse had tainted the council by association.

"I just see this as a very embarrassing situation for the city, when you have an elected official who had to return money to a developer," he said. "That behavior is completely unacceptable. It paints every elected official if one is accepting money from someone conducting business within the city."

Strouse said she agreed to pay Walden $7,500 only because "I could not spend another $30,000 on my defense and put my life on hold for another year to get my day in court to prove I was not guilty. They put me through the wringer on ridiculous charges. If people knew the kind of corruption that has went on in Eagle Mountain, they would be up in arms with pitchforks."

She wouldn't elaborate.

"I've made my statement," Strouse said. "I don't live there anymore. That is for the people that live there to find out."

Strouse said she wanted to be clear that she did not view paying the $7,500 as an admission of wrongdoing.

"I have absolutely not done anything wrong," she said. "I'm guilty of serving the citizens of the city. I don't want to sound like I'm bragging but I definitely took my fiduciary duty to the citizens of Eagle Mountain very seriously, and I cared deeply about their concerns. There would have been another gravel pit in Eagle Mountain if it weren't for me, and I tried to stop the 1,000 acres of open space from being turned into high-density housing. I went to bat for citizens over and over and over again. ... I earned the public trust."

For his part, Senator Madsen said he still considers himself Strouse's friend.

"I'm glad she's not going to jail, but I'm also glad she is not in a position where she can abuse her authority anymore," he said.

During her six years on the council, Strouse was known for her fervent patriotism. She admits today that her ideals are somewhat bruised.

"There is certainly a part of my feelings that are jaded about public service," she said. "I can look back and think, well, maybe I was being pretty naive. The real world can be a pretty tough place, especially in small-town politics. That is one of the things that was a huge surprise for me."

In many ways, Eagle Mountain was a true frontier town, she said, with a sort of lawlessness "like some of those border towns during the pioneer days."

Eagle Mountain and Saratoga Springs residents can breathe a collective sigh of relief as can those who live in Lehi and American Fork.

"This is an accumulation of several years of work," said Lehi Councilman Mark Johnson. "I'm so grateful that funding on this project didn't get cut because it's so critical to the transportation of all the communities in north Utah County."

Ground was broken for the Pioneer Crossing project during an afternoon ceremony in the sunny but 30-degree weather, one mile south of Saratoga's Four Corners. About 100 dignitaries and officials including Lt. Governor Gary Herbert and Utah State Representative Becky Lockhart gathered to celebrate the occasion.

"It's a new way out," said Eagle Mountain Mayor Heather Jackson about the arterial. "It's also a new avenue for development in the cities. It is an avenue for the pipelines, to get water."

Plans for the 6-mile project are to build an expressway from American Fork's Main Street at the I-15 interchange west through Lehi along 10th South across the Jordan River to Redwood Road. Pioneer Crossing has been put on the fast track for completion with 90 percent of the arterial completed by November in the first phase.

"They will have this opened up to the Mill Pond Road," said Bryan Adams, Access Utah County director. "So you'll be able to go to the American Fork interchange or the Lehi interchange." He said through the entire construction process they hope to always have two lanes open along American Fork's Main Street.

The second phase of the project from Lehi's 850 East to I-15 on American Fork' Main Street will be completed by fall 2010.

The Utah Department of Transportation has contracted Kiewit and W.W. Clyde and Co. for the $260 million project that includes the I-15 diverging diamond interchange, the first of its kind in Utah and according to UDOT possibly the second of its type in the nation. The DDI interchange will replace American Fork's Main Street interchange.

"It's a great day for beginnings," said Utah State Transportation Commissioner Kent Millington during the ceremony. "Tens of thousands of people will benefit from this project."

A Highland resident, he reflected on how Lehi and American Fork worked together 150 years previously to supply water from American Fork Creek into Lehi's Dry Creek.

"Today we're going to connect those two cities again with an avenue of commerce," he said.

Pioneer Crossing is a fully funded project for UDOT that includes improvements to the I-15 interchange at American Fork Main Street and a new 60-inch water main that will allow CUP water to flow to Eagle Mountain.

The road will have a raised median with five lanes from Redwood Road to 300 East in Lehi and seven lanes from 300 East to American Fork's Main Street.

Once the project is complete, residents, UDOT officials say commuters and business owners should experience improved east-west travel from Saratoga Springs through Lehi to American Fork, including relief on existing east-west roadways such as Lehi Main Street; improved traffic flow at the I-15 interchange; and safe and efficient access to neighborhoods, schools and businesses.

"It signifies not only economic growth but safety in transportation," said Saratoga Councilman Bud Poduska. "Having a single road in and out during that blizzard we had last February, there were literally thousands of people stranded and unable to get to their families either way. It took 10 hours to get home."

He said he was absolutely ecstatic about construction beginning on Pioneer Crossing and the service to the community its completion would provide in accessing the rest of the Utah County metropolitan area.

Willing or not, a few hundred residents living in an isolated area of Cedar Valley took a step toward becoming residents of Eagle Mountain on Tuesday. After hearing big promises of 5,000 jobs, big-box stores and a windfall of tax revenue, Eagle Mountain City Council members voted unanimously on Tuesday to consider annexation of White Hills.

Meeting to discuss the proposed annexation earlier in the afternoon on Tuesday, Eagle Mountain officials were quick to say what Tuesday's vote meant, and did not mean.

"It is what could be annexed, not what will be," said Councilman Ryan Ireland.

"We are not saying we are annexing the Pole Canyon area," said Mayor Heather Jackson. "We are just saying we are willing to look at annexing property within our new amended plan that adds approximately 3,000 acres within the Pole Canyon area."

Only one White Hills resident spoke against the proposed annexation on Tuesday. The resident said the majority of residents were opposed to annexation, and cautioned the city about being enticed by ambitious plans from developers filled with "fancy things," especially in light of the national economy.

A vote on annexation could be months away, but that did not stop developers on Tuesday from unveiling to Eagle Mountain a sweeping plan for the 3,000 acres in question.

Developer Nathan Shipp of DAI said they are proposing a large industrial/commercial area within the 3,000 acres that they believe would bring 5,000 jobs to Cedar Valley. They also said they would build the city a new rodeo grounds, boasting "warm-up rings, grandstands and chutes" to be open for the 150th anniversary of the Pony Express in 2010.

"That would be fun," Jackson said.

Developers showed maps of proposed public trails through the land and a link to a proposed ATV trail in the city. They said they would reserve space for five schools, including a junior high, and said they have already talked to Associated Foods about eventually bringing a grocery store to the White Hills area, as well as "a big-box store -- a Home Depot, a Lowe's, Olive Garden. We don't anticipate that happening immediately."

All told, this would bring a wealth of tax revenue to Eagle Mountain, council members were told.

"We really believe we will be bringing you industry as our first phase," Shipp said.

Never once did the developer mention how many homes their plan would build, or how many people it would add to Eagle Mountain when fully built out.

The development would solve some of the most pressing problems facing White Hills, where options are narrowing, developers said. White Hills has collected $100,000 in impact fees for its failing sewer lagoon system, while the system supporting just over 100 homes needs up to $500,000 worth of work.

Being annexed into Eagle Mountain would allow the city to abandon the existing sewer lagoons by using the $100,000 to connect residents to Eagle Mountain's sewer system, developers said.

Jackson said the city would be able to fix road problems in the White Hills area because Eagle Mountain would get more state road funds if the annexation went through. In addition, the county has already done work to fix intermittent flooding problems.

Some Council members said they feared annexation would saddle Eagle Mountain with White Hills' bills.

"My concern is how much is it going to cost us to fix their problems," said Councilwoman Donna Burnham.

White Hills residents would have to pay for their own upgrades, and new growth would be required to pay for itself in undeveloped areas across the rest of the annexation, developers said.

"They need to handle their issues without taking money from other areas," Shipp said of White Hills.

When asked about other potential expenses to the city if the annexation is approved, Jackson said Eagle Mountain is already paying for fire and law enforcement services for the White Hills area.

"We provide their fire protection and don't get paid for it," she said. "Basically we respond to their law needs, so basically we have been footing the bill for them for some time."

Burnham asked developers to respond to a petition from White Hills residents protesting the proposed annexation.

Calling the petition informal and biased, Shipp said developers have tried to work with residents, saying they are battling rumors among residents that utility rates will increase.

"I'm not sure what else we can do to help them believe that their taxes will go down if they are annexed," Shipp said. "We really do believe their taxes would go down."

An Eagle Mountain woman convicted of abusing her niece and nephew was sentenced Thursday to up to 20 years in the Utah State Prison.

Heath spoke through tears in a barely audible whisper as she told the judge of her remorse.

"I hate what I did," she said. "I abhor it."

Heath's 9-year-old niece and 8-year-old nephew were found nearly naked, malnourished and alone at their Eagle Mountain home Oct. 14, after the girl escaped out a window. The children were taken to Primary Children's Medical Center, where they were treated for malnutrition and physical injuries.

Heath said all she wanted to do was care for her niece and nephew, who she said were traumatized by abuse before they lived with her. Eventually, she said she realized she was inadequate for the job. However, she said there was no excuse for her treatment of the children.

"There is no possible excuse that could ever justify any kind of abuse," she said.

Heath was in a difficult situation trying to care for abused children, said her attorney, Ann Boyle. However, Heath wanted people in the same situation to know they need to get help instead of trying to deal with it on their own.

Boyle requested that her client remain at the Utah County Jail for one year, rather than spend time in prison. Heath has been in solitary confinement at the jail ever since being attacked in the first week, and Boyle said Heath realized she would remain in solitary if she were to serve her sentence there.

Boyle said Heath would like to be on probation after the year in order to help pay for the children's therapy. Heath, however, said intervention in the case saved the lives of the children as well as herself, and she said she would accept a harsher sentence in order to accept responsibility.

"In the interest of justice ... I will accept your judgement," she said.

Judge James Taylor, however, said he did not believe the Utah County Jail was appropriate for Heath. The prison is much better suited for long-term care, and he said solitary confinement was not a good solution for the crime.

"Locking someone in a room is part of the problem in this case, and I'm not going to do that," he said.

In recommending a prison sentence for Heath, prosecutor Tim Taylor pointed out several aggravating factors in the case. A belt was used often to discipline the children, hitting them on the palms of their hands, tops of their feet, back and buttocks.

"Beatings which took place were inflicted, I believe, to cause a tremendous amount of pain," he said.

Taylor said the children told investigators they were often placed in cold water after a beating to prevent marks from showing on their bodies. They were also locked in a bathroom frequently, denied clothing or food. When investigators arrived at the home, food was plentiful, but not for the children.

"The children began eating soap and other chemicals because they didn't have anything else to eat," he said.

Although Taylor said he believed a prison sentence was appropriate for Heath, he pointed out that she has no criminal history and has taken responsibility for her acts from the beginning. Taylor said willingness to be held accountable may bode well for her with the board of pardons in the future.

"I think that she expressed a lot of remorse, a lot of sorrow, for what she's done," he said.

Heath's boyfriend, Sekoa Aiono, also pleaded guilty to the same charges in December and will be sentenced Feb. 5. Tim Taylor said he anticipates recommending the same sentence for Aiono.

Months ago, Eagle Mountain had been optimistic that residents could vote this June on a tax increase to fund a recreation center.

But despite the economy leaning on their plans, Eagle Mountain is pressing toward its goal. Looking beyond the setback on a vote, the city held the final of three public meetings on Thursday to ask residents what they would like to see in a recreation center if and when it can be built.

The city will use the input of residents to prepare plans for a rec center so that when a vote is economically feasible, the city will be prepared to move, Jackson said.

The city has set aside 60 acres for the project along Sweetwater Road, and that land will also include sports fields.

Although a local homeowners association had at one point been in discussions to be joint partners, or to build its own rec center, the HOA has since dropped its plans, said city administrator John Hendrickson.

Rec centers can be built for as little as $7 million or multiples of that, he told residents. The city will consider a center that could be built in phases, depending on what the community wants and can afford. By comparison, Lindon is building a $10 million rec center, and organizers estimated to build something akin to Lehi's Legacy Center would cost $15 million.

Residents at the meeting wanted to know how soon the facility would be able to pay for itself. The answer was never. After the center is finished, user fees would only pay about 80 percent of the cost of operations and maintenance of the facility. The remainder would need to be made up with taxpayer dollars. Organizers said that if recreation facilities could make money, private businesses would build them and the city would never get involved. Eagle Mountain's goal is to provide public services that would not otherwise be available locally.

The center is needed in Eagle Mountain because, in addition to being somewhat isolated from amenities offered by other communities, the city has one of the youngest populations in the state -- the average age is about 13 years old, Hendrickson said.

Those who attended Thursday's meeting were given a checklist asking them to rate their desire for possible amenities including a gymnasium, dance room, aerobics, weights, senior citizens area, indoor swimming, competitive swimming, sauna, climbing wall, jogging track, splash pad and other choices.