This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
My Wednesday column about Bountiful-based Redstone Design's lawsuit against the Utah Republican Party alleging nonpayment for services prompted another vendor to contact me with the same complaint.
Yes, the deadbeat allegations against the state GOP keep piling up.
Taylor Vriens, president of Modern Display in Salt Lake City, says he has grown so frustrated with the party's delays in paying what it owes his company that he has turned over the matter to a collection agency.
Modern Display has provided decorating services for the Utah Republican Convention for years, says Vriens, and each year the company has to fight to get paid.
This year, Vriens refused to do the work for the April convention until the party paid its outstanding bill for 2015, along with the estimated tab for the 2016 gathering.
State GOP Chairman James Evans personally delivered the check to Vriens for the original estimate of $6,900.
But on-site additions and collection costs pushed the bill to $9,000, which Vriens has been unable to recover from the party.
Evans sent Modern Display a $1,000 check Friday, still short of the owed amount, which Vriens already has sent to a collection agency.
My earlier column noted the party still owes Redstone Design $11,000 for lanyards, duffel bags, caps, buttons and notebooks at the state and national Republican conventions this year. Hence the lawsuit.
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Different strokes? • U.S. Rep. Jason Chaffetz has used his position as head of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee to harass and humiliate members of President Barack Obama's administration and liberal groups such as Planned Parenthood, sometimes going so far with his harangues as to attract national ridicule.
The Utah Republican has said he will continue investigations and hearings over Democrat Hillary Clinton's emails — despite investigations that have concluded she did nothing criminal.
When pressed about having the same scrutiny with Republican Donald Trump's administration, he has said he'll hold everyone to the same standard.
That might be hard to buy for those who saw Chaffetz's Facebook post Thursday, showing a picture of himself with Trump and 2012 Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney.
Chaffetz's tongue-in-cheek comment (taken from the movie "Elf") accompanying the photo says: "First we'll make snow angels for two hours, and then we'll go ice skating, and then we'll go eat a whole roll of Toll House cookie dough as fast as we can, and then to finish, we'll snuggle."
Awe!
I can't wait for Chaffetz's questions to the first Trump official appearing before his committee.
"If you were a tree, what kind would you be? What's your favorite color? Do you like licorice?
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You're excused — not • The Wilford stake (or group of congregations) of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Millcreek area is having its conference this weekend, and there is some grumbling among the faithful.
The leaders in each ward (or congregation) have been summoned to a training session Saturday with the following edict:
The only way a person can be excused from the meeting is with a written note to the stake president explaining the reason for the absence that is then approved by the stake president.
What's next? A lavatory pass?