TMDL Report To Be Presented Tuesday Evening at Huntsville Library

Pineview Reservoir’s water quality is good and supports most of the uses of the reservoir.  An algae bloom in the fall of each year detracts from recreational enjoyment of the reservoir and the decomposition of the dead algae on the sediments uses up oxygen in the deep, cold water of the reservoir.  The lack of oxygen makes it impossible for cold water fishes, such a trout, to find suitable habitat.  Nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) entering the reservoir and being recycled from the sediments need to be controlled to make water quality better.

Dr. Darwin Sorensen of the Utah Water Research Laboratory at Utah State University, who has studied Pineview Reservoir water quality for more than 3 years, will summarize his research group’s findings and answer questions in a public meeting July 10, 2012, from 7:00-8:30 PM in the Huntsville Library.

Three arrested in Pineview boating death

Thanks to our faithful reader Smatguy for the tip

From the Weber County Sheriff's Office's Facebook page:

Today Weber County Sheriff’s Office detectives arrested and booked three suspects regarding the August 21, 2011 Pine View death of Esther Fujimoto.

And from the Standard Examiner:

The Weber County Sheriff’s Office has arrested three people in connection with the Aug. 21, 2011, death of Pineview Reservoir swimmer Esther Fujimoto.Colton Raines, Skyler Shepherd and Robert Cole Boyer were arrested Friday .

Fujimoto died after being struck by a boat while swimming in the reservoir.

Raines and Shepherd have been booked into Weber County Jail on suspicion of reckless endangerment, obstruction of justice, and leaving the scene of a boating accident, according to a press release from the Sheriff’s Office. Boyer has been booked on suspicion of obstruction of justice.

Formal charges are expected to be filed on Monday, according to Chief Deputy County Attorney Gary Heward.

 The arrests were 7 months after the death.

Police identify boaters in Pineview fatality

Thursday's Standard Examiner identifies the three men in the boat that police say killed a Pineview swimmer on August 21.

From the Tim Gurrister article,

Weber sheriff’s deputies have seized the boat believed to have struck the woman. The recently unsealed affidavits have identified its owner as Skyler Shepherd, 21, of South Ogden. In the boat with him were Colton Raines, 22, and Cole Boyer, 29, both of Ogden, the affidavits state.

In an Aug. 30 interview at the sheriff’s office, Shepherd told investigators Raines was piloting the boat when it struck Fujimoto, according to the documents.

Deputies were told all three men were seen consuming alcohol in the hours before the collision with Fujimoto, and Raines and Boyer were smoking marijuana. The search warrants covered the boat, as well as the blood of Raines and Boyer.

The warrants were executed and the blood samples were taken from the two Aug. 30, the documents said, noting that traces of marijuana remain in the human body for up to 30 days after ingestion.

A witness who lives adjacent to the area where Fujimoto was swimming heard a woman scream and went to the water’s edge to see a boat occupied by three males with a woman floating in the water near the boat, according to the affidavits.

“The witness heard one of the males call out, ‘Hey lady, are you alright, are you alright?” reads the document.

The witness then rowed out to the scene as the powerboat with the three males departed. “He was easily able to tell that Fujimoto was severely injured and bleeding and told the 911 dispatcher that ‘her insides were coming out.’ ”

 The article goes on to state:

A witness who was with the three men at Pineview said he observed Raines and Boyer smoking marijuana in the afternoon on the boat before the early evening collision with Fujimoto, according to the affidavits.

Weber County Attorney Dee Smith said Wednesday the case is still under investigation with no timetable on a decision on possible charges.

Nearly 6 weeks have passed since the Sheriff's office identified the boat's occupants yet no charges have been filed.

A September 16, 2011 Standard article informs us that two of the men are represented by high power Salt Lake attorney Greg Skordas:

Salt Lake City attorney Greg Skordas represents the two men who have not talked with detectives, at his request.

"I've asked my clients not to make statements until I'm present and can go over the case," said Skordas, who didn't identify his clients.
"If the sheriff's office thought a crime (had been) committed, they should have charged (them) awhile ago. Asking my clients to talk about a crime that didn't occur doesn't make sense."

What say you Ogden Valley faithful.  Did a crime occur?  If so, what should be the crime and punishment.

Boat seized, suspects ID'd in death of U. scientist at Pineview Reservoir

An update to the tragic accident we reported August 23 and August 26.

The boat that was allegedly involved in the accident has been found and seized by authorities, and the three men on board the boat have been identified.

click here to see the Fox 13 video.

Weber deputies seeking several suspects in boat hit-and-run

UPDATE TO OUR AUGUST 23, 2011 POST
From the Standard Examiner

HUNTSVILLE -- Authorities are looking for several suspects who were on a boat that struck and killed a woman in Pineview Reservoir over the weekend.
ABC 4 reports (http://bit.ly/p6ikog ) the Weber County Sheriff's Office believes the boat's driver stopped and talked to the injured woman in the water before fleeing.
Weber County authorities say 49-year-old Esther Fujimoto of Ogden died after she was struck around 8 p.m. Sunday while swimming in the reservoir.
Deputies say a bystander heard her screaming and came to her aid in a row boat. Fujimoto later died of her injuries.
Friends and colleagues say the woman was a University of Utah scientist seeking a cure for cerebral palsy.
Officials are asking anyone with information about the accident to contact authorities.

Weekend Ogden Valley Tragedies Leave Two Dead

Experienced Swimmer and Motocross Rider Both Killed

An experienced swimmer was hit by a boat and killed Sunday evening on Pineview reservoir.  The boat that allegedly hit Ogden resident Esther Fujimoto, 49, left the scene.  The boat is described as  white and blue with three males riding inside.

From Fox 13 news, we share this video,  Woman killed at Pineview Reservoir identified as U of U researcher

And from the Standard Examiner:

  
Boating victim was familiar with waters, says colleague

Weber County Sheriff's Office Lt. Lowther encourages anyone who might have been in the area to contact the sheriff's office. They especially hope to hear from three individuals in a blue and white boat who were sailing in the area, to share any information regarding what they might have seen.

On Thursday, during practice at the Powder Mountain Motocross, 16 year old Dylan Perkins of Surprise, AZ was killed.

Teen rider killed at Powder Mountain motocross practice

 Dylan is the second death in the Powder Mountain Motocross three year history.  In 2009, 16 year old Tanner Krahenbuhl, from Henderson, Nevada, was killed when the motor home he was riding in lost control and rolled over on the Powder Mountain road.

Letter to Weber County Commissioners Regarding Excessive Boat Noise on Pineview

Open Letter to the Weber County Commissioners from Radford Hills resident Peter Turner

Dear Commissioners,

Topic

Excessively loud cigarette boats on Pineview Reservoir

Requested Action

Pass laws by the summer 2010 boating season to regulate the boat noise at least to the same level as other activities that are regulated to avoid disturbing the peace.

Discussion

I want to address a public nuisance on Pineview Reservoir during the summer boating season. The issue is some extremely loud boats on Pineview Reservoir and the inability of our local law enforcement personnel to deal with it. At idle the boats are relatively quiet and can therefore pass current minimal noise laws. But at moderate to full throttle their noise reverberates throughout the whole Ogden Valley. And they are out on the water for hours at a time and often “racing” or at least pacing equally loud boats. Typically these boats are known as “cigarette” boats which were originally designed for drug smuggling and speed to outrun the Coast Guard. Local boaters state that this is one of the few remaining lakes that allow these types of boats. We need laws to prevent the noise that these boats produce. They must have adequate noise suppression so they are not a public nuisance.

I live in Radford Hills above Port Ramp and the Yacht Club. Pineview Reservoir is not a large lake in an isolated region. It is a small lake surrounded by residential communities of Huntsville and Eden. I would like to give you a comparative perspective on the amount of noise they produce. From my house I cannot hear the motors from 90% of the boats on the lake. On a quiet day I can faintly hear the jet skis which are generally considered quite noisy water craft. In the morning hours when it is quiet I can hear the launching of two stroke outboard motors from some of the boaters. The noise is not loud enough to be obtrusive or offensive but it also only lasts a few minutes as they disappear into the distance or they reach their destination. These noisy cigarette boats make so much noise we have to raise our voices on my deck facing the lake to hold a conversation as they run along the South Arm. I can hear their roar as they go down Middle or South Fork on their runs all the way to Huntsville. If I am on the rear side of the house I can hear the motor noise echo off of the Wasatch Front and back down to my house. They are louder than the F-16s that fly over from Hill AFB.

If I were to make that much noise with my car I would immediately be stopped and issued a ticket to force me to muffle my car. If I made that much noise at my house, even during daylight hours, I would be ticketed or arrested for disturbing the peace. If I made that much noise on land at a campground or beach at the lake I would be ticketed, or asked to leave, or arrested for disturbing the peace if I continued for any length of time. But according to the Sherriff and the USFS Rangers our current laws allow me the unrestricted ability to make all the noise I can possibly generate from a boat that is running above engine idle.

Around dinner time as the lake quiets down 2 or 3 of them like to drag race from one end of the lake to the other. I can estimate they go as fast as 100mph based on their speed relative to traffic on the highway going 50mph. There is a safety issue in addition to the noise also but I presume we will deal with that after they crash into and kill someone. I would suggest a ban on these cigarette boats appropriate to small reservoirs or lakes within residential communities like Pineview Reservoir.

The Utah Boating Act and Rules of the Board of Parks and Recreation pertain to any waters within the territorial limits of the State of Utah. The Act clearly states “A motorboat may not be operated in a manner that will cause it to emit more than 75 decibels of noise at the shoreline”. See http://www.boatus.org/onlinecourse/statelaws/Utah.html . 75 decibels is often compared to the sound of city traffic as heard from inside a car. These cigarette boats emit noise more like standing behind a 747 during takeoff. I presume Pineview Reservoir is not within the territorial limits of the State of Utah being owned by the Federal government. But we need this same law standard applied here. According to the Ogden Ranger Station laws regulating noise need to come from Weber County. So I am asking the Commissioners to act on this.

We need laws to regulate the boat noise at least to the same level as other activities that are regulated to avoid disturbing the peace. And we need it before summer 2010. A few years ago there would be an occasional really loud boat that we would tolerate for a day or occasional weekend. But certainly this year the cigarette boats have discovered Pineview. I would estimate there are about 10 different boats, some or most of them based out of the Yacht Club. The word is out and we need our peace restored quickly.

Best Regards,

Peter Turner


What say ye Ogden Valley residents? Do you share the same concerns over the noise emitted by the Don Johnson type Cigarette boats?