August 18, 2013 Flames erupt from motor home in salvage yard By ANDREAS RIVERA Standard-Examiner staff arivera@standard.net OGDEN — Firefighters responded Saturday night to a fire that appears to have started from an old motor home sitting in a salvage yard. Crews responded to the fire near 740 West on 17th Street at around 8 p.m. A black tower of smoke could be seen for miles around Ogden. Firefighters were able to get the blaze under control within 15 minutes. The owners of the salvage yard were not at the scene at the time of the fire. Becky Done, who lives down the road, said this isn't the first fire to come from the yard, although none were this large. Investigators are still to determine how it started. In Layton, crews responded to a house fire at 737 N. Sapphire St. Saturday evening. Firefighters arrived to see heavy smoke coming from the basement, according to Layton Fire. The homeowner was on scene, but not in the house at the time of the fire. Crews found flames in the basement and were able to put it out in a Ogden firefighters respond to Saturday evening. matter of minutes. The fire left about $50, worth of damage and home uninhabitable. ANDREAS RIVERA/ Standard-Examiner staff a fire that began inside of a scrap yard The Red Cross is assisting 000 the homeowner; however, the the resident owns a brand-new motor home in which to stay. August 12, 2013 Sheriff Terry Thompson Justifies New Tax Assessments Tax burdens for Weber sheriffs services now shared Editor, The Weber County Sheriff's Office contracts with eight cities for law enforcement services: Farr West, Hooper, Huntsville, Marriott-Slaterville, Plain City, Uintah, Washington Terrace, and West Haven. My office has worked closely with city officials and county commissioners over the last few years to ensure residents in Weber County, whether living in a contract city or not, are paying a fair amount for county law enforcement services. Contract city officials have been instrumental in working with our office to identify a solution to this problem, and we express our thanks to those elected officials in our cities for their willingness to do the right thing. This has resulted in a shift of property taxes of Weber County residents to those receiving services. Every taxpayer in Weber County will be receiving a reduction in property taxes assessed by the Weber County General Fund. As tax paying residents of Weber County and our contract cities, residents need to know that we are doing our best to provide for the safety and security of families, homes, and property in an efficient manner. In Utah, the average law enforcement agency has 1.71 officers per 1,000 residents it serves. The Weber County Sheriff's Office is currently operating with 1.33 officers per 1,000 residents. Clearly, we continue to serve Weber County taxpayers effectively and efficiently! Moreover, we have been successful in reducing the overall sheriff's office budget substantially while maintaining effective services and delivering a tax reduction to all Weber County residents. It is my pleasure to serve each of you as your Weber County sheriff and I thank you personally for your willingness to support the deputies and staff of the Weber County Sheriff's Office who serve you. Terry L. Thompson Weber County Sheriff Ogden 63