Sunrise Stories: Utah Judge Denies Colby Jenkins Request for Cure List

KDXU Sunrise Stories: Volume 244 

Statewide News – 07/09/24 

Silver King Fire 0% Contained at Nearly 11,000 Acres 

The Silver King Fire in Piute County continues to display dangerous fire behavior as fire fighters struggle to contain the blaze. 

According to Utah Fire Info, the naturally caused wildfire has spread to about 11,000 acres after four days of burning in Fishlake National Forest. 

Fire officials told our news partners at ABC4 Utah about the various resources that have been dispatched to the fire, and how some fire fighters haven’t slept a wink since the fire was discovered on July 5. We’ll continue to provide updates as the situation develops. 

Utah Supreme Court Denies Convicted Killer Petition to Avoid Death Penalty 

The Utah Supreme Court denied a petition from convicted Utah killer Taberon Honie to cancel his execution on Aug. 8.  

Honie was given the death penalty after the 1998 murder of Claudia Benn with a judge signing the convicted killer’s death warrant in June. 

Several hearings are scheduled later this month to decide if the execution will go through next month, but in this case, the Utah Supreme Court stands firm in its decision. 

Southern Utah/St. George News – 07/09/24 

Deer Springs Fire Grows Exponentially to 11,000 Acres in Kane County 

It’s only been two days since the Deer Springs Fire has been reported in Kane County near Kanab, but wildfire has already grown to over 11,000 acres as of this morning. 

The fire was first reported at 1,200 acres on Sunday, but poor weather conditions including high temperatures allowed the inferno to flourish quickly. 

In a statement on their Facebook page, Utah Fire Info said fire fighters are working to keep the flames away from the Deer Springs Community as the fire remains at 0% containment. 

Judge Denies Colby Jenkins Request for Washington County Cure List 

Utah Fifth District Judge Jay Winward has denied congressional candidate Colby Jenkin’s request for the Washington County Clerk to release a list of voters whose ballots were disqualified following the primary election. 

Winward said Utah Election Law gives county clerks discretion when it comes to releasing lists of uncured ballots like the one Jenkins has requested. 

Washington County Clerk Ryan Sullivan gave a similar statement over the weekend defending his right to release the list or not, even if Salt Lake County released their cure list.  

Iron County May Not Count Over 400 Votes Due to Faulty Postmarks 

The Iron County Clerk revealed over 400 votes in the county that may not count for the primary election due to disputed postmark dates. 

The Iron County commissioners will hold a meeting later today to decide what comes next as more counties across the state give their final vote counts for the June 25 primary election. 

Washington County is reportedly facing a similar issue with around 300 ballots uncounted due to several issues like late postmarks and unregistered signatures. 

Other 

Fun fact about Stockton Myers, the writer of Sunrise Stories. 

Stockton’s preparing for what’s probably going to be the busiest month of his career so far. In August, Stockton will be covering for Andy Griffin on the KDXU morning show for two weeks as he heads off to Europe for a river cruise. At the same time, Stockton will be moving into that new town house that he’s been talking about for months. That’s all on top of the usual Sunrise Stories and local news articles that he writes every weekday. Should be...fun. 

Happy Tuesday!