This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Delta High School Principal Dean Fowles was arrested and booked into the Salt Lake County jail in February for attempting to take a handgun through security at Salt Lake City International Airport. He has pleaded not guilty to the charge and has a court date June 10 at the Salt Lake City Justice Court.
The gun was unloaded according to Utah law, which states a bullet must be in the chamber in a firing position to be considered loaded, even if there is ammo in the magazine.
According to the police report, the concealed handgun triggered a "covert alarm" when it was detected in the security area of the airport.
Fowles said he had taken great pains to check his luggage the night before he was scheduled to fly to Wyoming and was surprised when the airport police found the handgun in his carry-on. He says it must have been accidentally rolled up in underwear or another garment he packed in the bag.
The irony, he says, is that he is a supporter of all the security measures to make sure flights are safe, including the controversial full-body scanners. Even as he was arrested, he said, he told the officers he understood the job they had to do.
His arrest was one of seven firearm arrests at the airport since January. There were 20 firearm arrests and 35 for possession of other weapons in 2010, said airport spokeswoman Barbara Gann. She said bringing a firearm to the airport's security checkpoint can result in criminal prosecution and civil penalties up to $10,000 — even if the passenger has a weapons permit.
Perhaps that's another Second Amendment issue the Legislature will try to remedy next year.
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Something fishy going on? • An incident last week at Salt Lake City's "Tastemaker" event showcasing downtown restaurants demonstrates just how difficult it is to do something cool in Utah.
The two-day event was co-sponsored by the Downtown Alliance and Salt Lake City Magazine and featured tastings from many restaurants, either in their own facilities or in tents set up in a parking lot next to Squatters Pub. Patrons bought a "passport" that enabled them to go to each location for a sample of the restaurant's best fare.
The participating eateries submitted the menu items they planned to serve to the Salt Lake Valley Health Department in advance.
But on Thursday, the first night of the event, a food inspector from the Health Department showed up and demanded Meditrina stop serving its crudo salmon because it was being served raw and did not meet the proper temperature standards.
Event sponsors point out that "crudo" means raw fish, so the inspectors should have been aware before the event began what was being served.
But Royal De Legge, the department's environmental health director, said the food handler should have had a certified document insuring the food did not have parasite problems. That was the only item on Meditrina's menu, so the restaurant had to serve just salad greens the rest of the night.
Mary Malouf of Salt Lake City Magazine noted the raw salmon was consumed by patrons for two hours before the inspector showed up, and nobody got sick. The next night, they got a note from a fish store signifying the product was safe.
"These types of events are held all over the country," she said. "But the bureaucracy here in Utah still has a hard time [understanding them]."
She mentioned all the cumbersome rules, including regulations from the Department of Alcohol Beverage Control that required the wine at the locations be served in miniscule plastic cups some patrons jokingly called "sacrament cups."
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Got the message? • Republican convention delegates recently received an email inviting them to a special showing Thursday of the film "I Want Your Money" at the Megaplex theater complex in Riverton. The animated movie is a conservative take on what caused the financial crisis. The event is co-sponsored by Rep. Karl Wimmer, R-Herriman, and Buy Back America Radio.
Patrons are asked to donate a minimum of $15 to raise funds for Buy Back America Radio.
So the sponsors are asking for your money to watch the movie "I Want Your Money."