This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
An elementary vice principal in Granite School District who was fired and prosecuted for hitting a child, and tampering with a witness who saw the incident two years ago, will once again be an assistant principal in the district.
Rosselis Cabanillas was employed at Granger and Stansbury elementary schools when, according to charging documents, she slapped an 11-year-old boy, leaving a red mark on his cheek. She then allegedly told a teacher who witnessed the slap: "You didn't see that. It didn't happen."
She eventually entered guilty pleas in 3rd District Court to one count of witness tampering, a third-degree felony, and one count of child abuse involving physical injury, a class A misdemeanor.
Judge Randall Skanchy held the pleas in abeyance for 12 months then dismissed the case after Cabanillas fulfilled the terms of the plea agreement, including a mental health evaluation and taking anger management and cognitive-restructuring classes.
She had her license revoked at the time by the Utah Professional Practices Advisory Commission, but the license was recently re-established. Now, she will be the assistant principal at the new Elk Run Elementary School in Magna.
Granite District spokesman Ben Horsley said Cabanillas has completed all the necessary requirements and, "based on the information we have, we felt comfortable to the extent we did rehire her."
Horsley said the district "takes seriously" concerns of parents and that "it is appropriate they bring [concerns] to our attention. We have an open dialogue and we want the parents to feel comfortable."
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The missionary project • Perhaps the story behind the short-lived job that former Rep. Carl Wimmer thought he had as political director of the Nevada Republican Party is becoming more clear.
Why pay a Utahn to do your political work when you can get a whole bunch of them for free?
You'll recall that after Wimmer lost his bid for the 4th Congressional District, he announced he was taking a job as political director for the Nevada GOP.
Then Nevada Republican officials said he had no job.
Well, last weekend, the Nevada Republicans got a big boost from the Utah Republican Central Committee, which sent 45 volunteers to the Silver State to walk neighborhoods in Mesquite for the Mitt Romney presidential campaign.
Utah GOP Chairman Thomas Wright says Utah Republicans are in a position to help the Romney effort in surrounding Western states that are considered swing states in the election.
The volunteers made 832 calls and knocked on 376 doors, Wright said.
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Speaking of missionaries • I was riding on TRAX the other morning when a young man walked through the car and respectfully passed out cards with a picture of the Book of Mormon and contact information, including a telephone number and Web address: http://www.mormon.org.
He was wearing a casual shirt, Levis and tennis shoes, and hauling a backpack.
The card was official in the sense that the website given is an LDS Church site, but church spokesman Scott Trotter tells me that missionaries are required to wear a suit and tie when in public.
Our TRAX friend, it appears, was an independent contractor.