This is your daily news rundown for Friday, Sept. 6. In this edition:
- Light pollution makes it harder for birds to migrate. Here's what you can do
- Bats were removed Thursday from Juab High School
- The Carbon County attorney ruled that officers were justified in shooting and killing a man
- An antique hat is missing from eastern Utah's Helper Museum
Here's how you can protect migrating birds
Turning off lights and closing your curtains now through October could help migrating birds, according to Kylee Ehmann of the Tracy Aviary in Salt Lake City.
Ehmann said turning out the lights from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. helps keep our bird population safer.
Light pollution can make their journey more dangerous. Wildfire smoke also can disorient birds causing them to crash into windows. She said millions of birds die every year by flying into glass.
She said switching off the lights and closing the blinds helps them use less energy to get to their next stop. Also, adding stickers or ribbon to windows and sliding doors can help.
Bats removed from Juab High School gym
A mitigation company spent Thursday removing unwanted mammals from a Utah school. Dr. Cody Hughes, the superintendent of Juab County School District, said the bats were seen in the Juab High School gymnasium on Tuesday.
They closed the gym and the nearby hallways and moved classes to a different area.
None of the students made contact with the bats, which can carry rabies.
The Salt Lake City School District told KSL TV that Highland High also had bats on their campus a few weeks ago.
Carbon County Attorney rules police shooting was legally justified
Five police officers were legally justified in shooting and killing a man wanted in a domestic violence investigation, the Carbon County Attorney’s Office announced Thursday.
Just after 11:30 p.m. on July 30, officers from Price, Helper, Wellington, and the Carbon County Sheriff’s Office responded to a domestic violence incident just outside Price city limits. Patrick Frank Whitten, 31, “was reported to be under the influence of a controlled substance and had threatened to kill his spouse,” according to a statement released by the county attorney’s office.
Whitten was armed with a gun, the county attorney said. Officers ordered him to drop the weapon.
According to the statement “(Whitten) ignored officers’ commands, grasped the firearm with both hands and held it at a low-ready position. (Whitten) raised the firearm toward officers,” prompting them to shoot.
The investigation concluded five officers who fired their weapons reasonably believed the use of deadly force was necessary to prevent death or serious injury to themselves.
Antique hat missing from eastern Utah museum
The director and curator of the Helper Museum in eastern Utah says a priceless miner’s hat is missing.
Roman Vega said the 100-year-old miner's cap was an antique reminder of Carbon County’s past life of blood-coal mining and the railroads.
Vega said in the 1900s they didn't have hard hats that they currently use today. Instead, he said, they used a soft cap with a place to hold carbide or an open-flame lamp.
Vega said he doesn’t plan to press charges — he just hopes the hat will be returned.
