This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
With all the news lately about police-involved shootings and protests against alleged excessive force, there is another side to the public safety issue that perhaps does not get enough attention.
Taylorsville resident Richard Prime sent a letter to Salt Lake City Police Chief Chris Burbank that he copied to me and that deserves some publicity.
Prime and his family were leaving Smith's Ballpark after a baseball game between the Salt Lake Bees and the New Orleans Zephyrs on Sunday night, when they encountered a near tragedy.
City police officers were directing traffic outside the stadium, as usual. At a 1300 South crosswalk, nearest to the third-base exit that Prime and his family took, Detective Shauna Bills was busy directing traffic.
Prime's 88-year-old father-in-law, Ben Montoya, was in front of the rest of the family and began walking across the street in the crosswalk because Bills had stopped the oncoming traffic.
One car, however, disregarded the detective's signals and headed straight toward Montoya.
When the detective realized the car was not stopping, she dived in front of the car and tackled Montoya to keep him out of harm's way. Bills then stayed with Montoya until she was sure he was OK before resuming her traffic duties.
Prime says that the family is convinced Bills saved their patriarch from serious injury or possible death.
More crosswalk concerns • When the school year started Monday, Salt Lake City School District found itself in a precarious position in regards to student safety: There were not enough crossing guards, leaving some crosswalks near schools unprotected.
One of the schools in jeopardy was Dilworth Elementary.
Principal Jared Wright sent an email to parents, advising them that the school would have only two crossing guards instead of the usual three.
The guards would be stationed at the crosswalk directly in front of the school and at the busy intersection at 2100 East and 2100 South. A third crosswalk near the campus would be unprotected for now.
Crossing guards are hired through Salt Lake City's parking enforcement office. City spokesman Art Raymond says there is a shortage of 10 crossing guards districtwide and that the city is scurrying to get the rest hired.
He says the job's part-time nature and nominal pay present challenges in getting applicants. In addition, many who apply want assignments only in their own neighborhoods or where their children go to school.
During the first three days of school, 10 school crosswalks in the city were unprotected. But Raymond said that, as of Thursday, those crosswalks will be guarded by full-time parking enforcement employees until enough part-time crossing guards are hired.
Mix and match • Salt Lake Tribune readers were treated to a front-page story Wednesday about a state audit that criticized the Utah Transit Authority for questionable expenditures to contractors who had ties to UTA board members, extravagant pay and bonuses to agency executives and poor planning for $2.9 billion in maintenance costs from new rail projects.
As readers continued through the A section in the same edition, they found on Page A-7 a full-page ad from the Salt Lake Chamber congratulating UTA for being the recipient of its 2014 President's Award for Excellence.