Eagle Mountain City is coordinating a volunteer effort to help beautify the Utah Veterans Memorial Park as part of the city’s military appreciation week May 20-24.
The Utah Veterans Memorial Park is located at 17111 Camp Williams Road (on the north side of Camp Williams off of Redwood Road). Due to recent budget cuts, the cemetery is in need of trees, plants, flowers and benches. They also need volunteers to help plant, weed and trim around the headstones.

City staff have planned a Volunteer Service Day on May 20 from 4 to 7 p.m. at the cemetery. Food and beverages will be provided. They said they would love to have the assistance of local scout groups, churches and other community groups for this project. For those who are not able to participate on May 20, they would like to schedule help for other dates.

If you are willing to be a part of this service project by either donating materials, giving money for materials or helping with the planting and weeding, please contact Angie Ferre at (801) 789-6603 or Linda Peterson at (801) 358-1175 as soon as possible.

Eagle Mountain -- Bursting with all the color and rhythm of a Caribbean holiday, Rockwell Charter High School's production of "Once on this Island" combines a powerful story with music and movement for a memorable evening of entertainment.

The action will never be far from the audience since seating is on the stage, giving the production an up-close feel.

"We're recommending buying tickets early because we expect to sell out," said co-director Paula Kavmark.

The musical will be on stage nightly May 13-16 at 7:30 p.m. at Rockwell Charter High School, located behind the Maverik Country Store, near the intersection of Ranches Parkway and SR73 in Eagle Mountain. Tickets are $5 for children 12 and under, $7 for adults, and can be purchased early at the school financial office, across from the main office.

"I love it. This is one of my favorite plays ever," said Shawnae Rasmussen who plays the female lead, Timoune.

The cast of 27 includes students from grades 7-12 with one adult and one cast-member's little sister rounding out the group.

"It's definitely an ensemble piece. We wanted to do something to showcase the talent we have here," Taylor said. Competition was fierce with 70 students trying out for the show in open auditions.

The energetic dances and stage movements envisioned by choreographer Candice Neilsen give the show a fluid motion, like waves washing up onto Caribbean sands. Rockwell Charter High School technical theater students constructed the set with curved ramps that accentuate the performers' flowing movements. Resembling waves of color, cast members wear uniform tee shirts and dark pants accented by a variety of colorful island accessories.

Choir instructor Rebecca Wren has worked with the entire cast for five weeks on the demanding music. "Singing is a blast. It's so much fun to dance, too," said lead actor Isaac Durfey. "Music speaks to me, it's real. And this story is about being honest with people."

The play tells the story of a tragic love triangle with a supernatural twist.

"The character I play is stuck-up and rude. It's really different to express that," said Alisa Pierson who plays Andrea.

"I think it's fantastic what's been done with our relatively small numbers during our first year. Mr. Taylor's done a great job pulling the students together for these shows," said Rockwell Charter High School Principal Darren Beck.

If you go

"Once on this Island"

Rockwell Charter High School

(behind the Maverik on Pony Express Parkway and SR73, Eagle Mountain)

May 13, 14, 15, and 16 at 7:30 p.m.

Tickets are $5 for children 12 and under and students with ID, $7 for adults

Rockwell High stages "Once on this Island"

PROVO -- A Provo 4th District judge sentenced Matthew Graham to two years in jail Monday, despite defense attorneys' requests for a new trial.

The charges against Graham stemmed from a Jan. 31, 2008, incident. In the alternative to aggravated kidnapping, jurors also had the option of aggravated assault-domestic violence.

Judge Samuel McVey sentenced Graham to two consecutive one-year sentences in the jail and gave him credit for 467 days already served. He also said Graham can have no contact with his wife or his children until he has completed a reunification program.

McVey said Graham's statements to Adult Probation and Parole made an impact on the sentence because Graham continued to blame his wife and police officers for the incident.

"I do not believe that Mr. Graham has taken responsibility for these actions," he said.

He also gave Graham the option of getting out of jail early if he participates in an in-house mental health treatment program run by Veterans Affairs. If Graham takes part in the program, he can be released when it is completed. Otherwise, he will be in jail until January. McVey said Graham needs to take part in the program for the safety of his family and the community.

"I believe that is necessary to protect society," he said.

Graham was also given six years of probation, which can be terminated after three years if authorities are satisfied. He will not be allowed to own any firearms, and any he currently owns must be sold by a third party. McVey pointed out that Graham was discharged from the Marine Corps for personnel problems and was also unsuccessful in the National Guard. He said Graham has not lived up to the standards of a soldier.

Prosecutor Doug Finch said he was pleased the judge included the stipulation for mental health treatment, which was part of a plea deal offered by the state several months ago. Finch said prosecutors worked with the VA to secure a spot for Graham long ago, but he refused. Now, he has the same option, but with a lot more time in jail, he said.

"That was the biggest disappointment I have about the whole thing," he said.

Graham's attorney, Lisa Estrada, declined to comment on the sentence. Finch, however, said he knows the defense plans to file an appeal, but he said he believes the state will be successful in that venue as well.

Estrada filed a motion to arrest judgement in the case after the trial, arguing that the jury's decision to convict Graham on the domestic violence charge was incongruous with his acquittal on the aggravated kidnapping or assault charges. Estrada also argued that no one saw a gun in Graham's hand besides his wife, and he never brandished the weapon with the intent to commit a crime.

"I believe that the evidence needs to show that the defendant used the dangerous weapon," she told the judge.

McVey disagreed, however, saying Graham only needed to have a gun to constitute using it. He also said the evidence presented at trial should be left up to the jury to believe or not.

"The court's not allowed to second-guess the jury in these situations," he said.

EAGLE MOUNTAIN -- An Eagle Mountain woman was arrested Thursday on allegations that she severely neglected her five children, including an autistic son.

According to the affidavit, police entered the home and found 37-year-old Jennifer Empey and three children lying on a garbage-covered floor, wearing only diapers or underwear.

"A fourth child was located on the top floor of the residence, in a room with a temperature of 100 degrees," wrote the officer in the report. "The temperature was confirmed with responding paramedics equipment."

Police say Empey was unresponsive and unconscious, awakening only when officers shook her vigorously. She reportedly confirmed that her 6-year-old son is autistic, but said she did not know he was wandering outside, alone.

The five children, all under age 12, were reportedly found healthy enough that they did not need to be transported to a hospital, but all were very dirty and thin, according to the release. When police asked what the children had eaten, none of them could remember what or when they had last eaten, according to the report.

"The overall state of the residence was beyond any condition I had ever before seen, with soiled diapers and underwear strewn throughout the residence," wrote the police officer in the affidavit. "In the kitchen area of the residence was a floor covered in dirt, garbage, animal and human feces, discarded food and empty, rotting food containers."

The report also states that the room where Empey and the children were found was soiled with numerous unknown substances, with similar garbage and rotting items throughout. Empey allegedly told officers she takes several medications.

When Empey was told the children would be temporarily removed from the home, she allegedly began screaming that she was going to kill herself and swallowed an unknown number of pills.

She was taken to Utah Valley Regional Medical Center in Provo for evaluation and later booked into the Utah County Jail on four charges of child abuse and one charge of abuse or neglect of a disabled child.

Bringing a bit of the color and pageantry of the changing of the guard from the cobblestone courtyards of Buckingham Palace to Rockwell Charter High School, the Queen's Royal Guard presented a drill demonstration on the school parking lot Tuesday.

"We love our soldiers," said the city's mayor, Heather Jackson. "We have parades whenever our soldiers return, even if it's in the middle of the night. It's very exciting to host these guys today."

During their week-long visit to the United States for a series of soccer matches, the 18 members of the elite Queen's Royal Guard from the British Grenadier Guards Army Infantry Regiment impressed the Rockwell Charter High School students with the marching precision and skill they've mastered while guarding their monarch.

With every step in precise unison, the soldiers marched in quick time and slow step, turned and stopped on command. Members of the guard matched each measured motion so precisely that they earned appreciative cheers from their young audience.

Because of the difficulty of transporting the sizable ceremonial uniforms, only three of the soldiers wore their traditional red and black Buckingham Palace attire. All of the rest of the guards wore camouflage fatigues.

"Every one of the guys has a tunic and bearskin cap," said Company Sergeant Major Sean Bates. The iconic Buckingham Palace bearskin hats generated the most interest among the students.

"We call them bearskin caps, not hats," said Bates during the question-and-answer session. Bate asked if any of the students would like to try on a bearskin cap.

"It didn't fit my head. I felt like it was going to fall off the whole time. How do they even see?" said Damion Sponbeck, a seventh-grader who modeled one of the towering caps.

Captain Piers Ashfield explained that the caps are fashioned from the skins of Canadian black bears only when a bear hunt is authorized to thin over-population.

A student asked how often the guards practice marching.

"We do drill as little as practically possible. We get it right so we don't have to repeat it," said Bates.

A teacher commented that some of the soldiers looked as young as the students. Ashfield explained that British youth can enlist in the military at age 16, but are not allowed to deploy until they are 17-and-a-half.

Bates presented a plaque picturing the Queen's Royal badge and colors to Rockwell Charter High School Director Darren Beck. Bates told the students about the code of ideals the British soldiers strive to embody, including discipline, integrity and respect for others.

"Our role is infantry soldiers first and ceremonial soldiers second. And on top of that, we're football players -- what you call soccer," said Bates, who serves as the team's soccer coach.

According to Bates, the Queen's Royal Guards stand guard on a rotational basis at royal historic sites in England including Buckingham Palace, the Tower of London and Windsor Castle. Their army infantry duties take them all over the world. The group recently returned from Kenya and will serve in a birthday parade for Queen Elizabeth II in London in June before being deployed to Afghanistan in the fall.

When Bates served as a military instructor in Kuwait, he and fellow instructor Utah Army National Guard Master Sergeant Monty Smith struck up a friendship that brought the Queen's Royal Guards to Utah. Utah Army National Guard Staff Sergeant Robert Hill, an Eagle Mountain resident, helped schedule the British soldiers' diplomatic U.S. friendship tour.

Acquitted by a jury on Sept. 25, 2008, of seven counts of misuse of public money, former Eagle Mountain Mayor Brian Olsen has now filed a civil suit against the city he once ran, seeking $120,000 in legal fees.

According to the suit, Olsen has incurred $119,834.90 in attorney's fees and feels he is entitled to be reimbursed that money according to a provision in Utah law.

"They should foot the bill," Olsen told the Daily Herald in an interview. "There is a Utah law that says any public official that is prosecuted for crimes and later found innocent is entitled to their legal defense being covered."

Olsen said he has already paid the majority of that sum to his attorneys, and most of the settlement, should he win, will be to reimburse himself.

"I've paid 90-plus percent," he said.

Eagle Mountain has ignored his requests for the money, Olsen said, forcing him to file the suit.

Eagle Mountain spokeswoman Linda Peterson said the city never comments on ongoing litigation.

"They removed me from office, they wanted me out and they got what they wanted," Olsen said. "Now they should abide by Utah law and do the moral and ethical thing, instead of playing games."

Olsen said he regrets that ultimately it is the residents of Eagle Mountain whose tax dollars will go to pay for the actions of those who accused him.

"The unfortunate part is the citizens will have to pay for those who wanted to run me off," Olsen said.

Olsen said he was also motivated to file the suit because he wants to untangle his long legal ordeal, once and for all.

"I just want to get on with my life, but Eagle Mountain will not let me go," he said. "They won't do what is right ethically and morally, and it hurts people. And the town is being dragged down by it, I feel."