Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/573313
ByTamiAbdollah and Michelle L. Price TheAssociatedPress SALTLAKECITY Sevenavid hikers in safety helmets, wetsuits and climbing har- nesses smiled for a group photo before heading into the mouth of a narrow can- yon in southern Utah's Zion National Park. The 50-something men and women from Califor- nia and Nevada posed with their arms around each other before trying to climb and swim through the pop- ular sandstone gorge. Days later, rescuers searching for their bodies found a cam- era that revealed a final im- age of the group before they died. Within hours of them entering Keyhole Canyon, dark skies unleashed fierce rains that sent water surg- ing through the chasm, sweeping the seven to their deaths Monday. Their bodies were found throughout the week, the last on Thursday. It's the same day authorities re- covered a 33-year-old man killed by flash flooding near the Utah-Arizona border, raising the death toll to 20 from the violent rainstorm. Polygamoustown At least 12 other people, including nine children, died in a nearby polyga- mous town when two cars were swept away. A 6-year- old boy was still missing. Some of the seven hik- ers took a canyoneering skills course just before the excursion, park officials said. Others in the group were passionate about the sport and knew each other through a hiking club in Valencia, California, loved ones said Friday. The photo was taken on a "tragic last adventure" for the group who regularly hiked and backpacked, the children of Linda and Steve Arthur said in a statement. The couple from Camarillo, California, were outdoor en- thusiasts. Steve Arthur, 58, was a sergeant and 21-year vet- eran of the Ventura County Sheriff's Department, sher- iff's Capt. John Reilly said. He had been awarded the Medal of Valor in 1998 for rescuing a man from a burning car. "If he wasn't at work, he was out with his kids or grandkids, hiking all the time," Reilly said. "He loved the Sierras. He loved the outdoors." Arthur was so excited about the trip that he boasted about getting the permits for Keyhole Can- yon, which only 80 people a day are allowed to visit. "He was fortunate he was with the love of his life — his wife — they were both excited about going on these trips," sheriff's Commander Monica Mc- Grath said. "You could see the sparkle in his eye when talking about it." Mark MacKenzie, 56, of Valencia, was an avid hiker who looked out for others, particularly in the outdoors, according to his mother, Deanna MacKenzie Sisung. Watermelon "He'd carry a watermelon in his backpack, and he'd usually be the first one up there, and he'd serve every- body," Sisung said of her son, who worked for the city of Burbank and had three kids. Don Teichner, 55, of Mes- quite, Nevada, met mem- bers of the group through a California hiking club. The father and grandfa- ther moved out of the state earlier this year and was an executive at Almore Dye House, his family's Los An- geles-based garment-dyeing company, according to his cousin and business part- ner, Jeff Teichner. GaryFavela,51,ofRancho Cucamonga, California, was adventurous and outgoing with a love for canyoneer- ing, while Muku Reynolds, 59, of Chino, California, was a grandmother and a pas- sionate hiker, their families said in statements released Friday by park officials. Robin Brum, 53, a wife and mother from Camarillo, California, was a selfless person who cared for those around her, her family said. "She leaves a hole in our hearts and our lives that will never be filled," a state- ment said. Park officials say they warned the group of the risks when they got their permit Monday, telling them that there was a 40 percent chance of rain and some canyons would flood. Rangers give similar warn- ings nearly every day dur- ing the rainy season, offi- cials say. Park policy prevents rangers from assessing vis- itors' skill level or stopping them from entering can- yons. Zion is investigating what led to the deaths and reviewing its policies, but the process for canyon en- try permits is decided at the national level, park spokes- man David Eaker said. Rangers closed the can- yons after the storm hit, but there was no way to warn those already inside the majestic slot formations, which can quickly fill with rain water and leave people with no escape. The children of Steve and Linda Arthur said Fri- day that their parents were extremely cautious and had been watching weather re- ports closely. They texted family for updates before they headed into the can- yon, but they didn't get cell- phone service at the trail- head. "This is nothing but a freak accident and a true case of being at the wrong place at the wrong time," the couple's children said. Abdollah reported from Los Angeles. Associated Press reporter Sally Ho in Las Vegas contributed to this story. This story has been cor- rected to show that the name of Steve Arthur was misspelled Authur. NARROW CANYON Ph ot o fo un d a er fl as h flo odi ng reveals final image of 7 hikers NATIONALPARKSERVICE Hikers who died in the flood are from le : Gary Favela, Don Teichner, Muku Reynolds, Steve Arthur, Linda Arthur, Robin Brum, and Mark MacKenzie. By Scott Smith The Associated Press FRESNO Organized la- bor claimed a victory in a decades-long fight with one of the nation's largest fruit growers when a judge ruled that the company in- terfered with its employ- ees' vote on whether to re- ject union representation. A decision issued late Thursday sets aside an election held nearly two years ago by workers at Gerawan Farming Inc., which hires thousands of people annually to har- vest nectarines, peaches and grapes in California's Central Valley. It says Ger- awan used unfair labor practices in its support of a key worker who organized the campaign against the United Farm Workers. The farmworkers' votes remain locked up and un- counted amid the dispute. The decision says a Ger- awan employee, Silvia Lo- pez, unlawfully asked for and received $20,000 from a fruit growers association affiliated with Gerawan to fund the anti-union fight. It says that on one day, Lopez physically blocked workers from the farm to collect roughly 1,000 signatures calling for a vote to reject the UFW, and Gerawan un- fairly granted Lopez time off work to lead the effort. Wage increase Gerawan also made a "well-timed" wage increase to win the favor of work- ers, Administrative Law Judge Mark Soble said, cit- ing evidence he considered to dismiss the petition that sought the vote. "The misconduct cre- ated an environment which would have made it impossible for true em- ployee free choice when it came time to vote," Soble's ruling concludes. Dan Gerawan, who runs the family busi- ness in Fresno County, said in a statement that his workers are being denied their democratic rights by leaving the bal- lots uncounted. The labor dispute be- tween Gerawan Farming and the union launched by iconic farm labor leader Cesar Chavez dates to 1992, when the UFW be- gan to represent the farm- workers but didn't negoti- ate a labor contract. Union leaders have said they backed off at the time be- cause they were overpow- ered by Gerawan. They re- turned recently ready to take on the company and represent its workers. Gerawan said the UFW abandoned his employees for 20 years. "We support our em- ployees' right to choose and will never waver from that," Gerawan said. "Our message to the employees has been consistent." The UFW's national vice president, Armando Elenes, called the ruling a victory for farmworkers. "All we ask for is that the company obeys the law," Elenes said. 105-day hearing The 192-page ruling stems from a hearing that spanned 105 days with 130 witnesses testifying. Paul Bauer, the attor- ney representing Lopez, said he was still reading the extensive decision. The evidence does not support many of the allegations, he said. The desire to drive the union from Gerawan was the farmworkers' alone, said Bauer, adding that roughly 2,500 work- ers signed the petition to hold the vote, indicating their desire not to be rep- resented by the UFW. Gerawan attorney Ron- ald Barsamian said the company expects to ap- peal to the state's Agri- culture Labor Relations Board, and appeals could send the case to the Cal- ifornia Supreme Court. Gerawan was not allowed in the hearing to argue that the union had aban- doned its workers, some- thing that Barsamian says is a cornerstone of the dis- pute. "The UFW succeeded in keeping the lid on the bal- lot box for another day," Barsamian said. "They don't want the truth to come out. They don't want the workers' votes to be counted." JUDGE'S DECISION Farmworkers union declares victory in state labor battle The Associated Press SACRAMENTO Califor- nia's unemployment rate dropped to 6.1 percent in August, down slightly from 6.2 percent in July, the state Employment Development Department reported Fri- day. The state added 36,300 nonfarm jobs last month but the increase wasn't as strong as the 80,400 jobs added in July. California's jobless rate remains above the national average of 5.1 percent in Au- gust. The state employment agency reported there are roughly 17.9 million Cali- fornians holding jobs while another 1.2 million are un- employed. The numbers are based on federal and state surveys of employers and households, but don't take into account people who have stopped looking for work. Seven of 11 employment classifications saw job gains, including construction, transportation, financial activities, educational and health services, leisure and hospitality and government. The four areas that re- ported job losses include mining and logging, man- ufacturing, professional and business services and one category labeled "other services." The state has added more than 2 million jobs since California's recovery began in February 2010, according to EDD. State unemployment is now the lowest it's been since January 2008. A year ago, California's jobless rate was 7.4 percent. 36,000 NONFARM JOBS ADDED California's unemployment rate decreases slightly to 6.1 percent By Mary Clare Jalonick The Associated Press WASHINGTON ACalifornia company has recalled sev- eral brands of soft cheeses after they were linked to 24 illnesses around the coun- try over the last five years, including a 2012 death in Ohio. The Centers for Dis- ease Control and Pre- vention said Friday that Karoun Dairies, Inc., has voluntarily recalled and stopped production of several cheeses, includ- ing those sold under the brand names Karoun, Arz, Gopi, Queso Del Valle, Cen- tral Valley Creamery and Yanni. According to the CDC, almost two-thirds of those who became ill are of Mid- dle Eastern or Eastern Eu- ropean descent or shopped at Middle Eastern-style markets. Most of those who fell ill reported eating Mid- dle Eastern, Eastern Euro- pean, Mediterranean or Mexican-style cheeses. The agency said that five of the illnesses were in pregnant women, and one resulted in a miscarriage. Fourteen of the listeria ill- nesses were in California. The other illnesses were in Ohio, Colorado, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, Tennessee and Washington. The CDC said it has iden- tified illnesses linked to the cheese as far back as 2010. The most recent illnesses were identified last month. The agency discovered the illnesses as it was tracking a handful of liste- ria cases this summer. Dr. Brendan Jackson, a medi- cal epidemiologist at CDC, said the agency used a technique called whole ge- nome sequencing to match the newer illnesses to oth- ers several years back. Whole genome sequenc- ing maps all of an organ- ism's DNA. While the se- quencing has been a sta- ple of medical research, it has only recently been used regularly to track lis- teria outbreaks. The CDC also used the technique to detect an outbreak of liste- ria linked to Blue Bell ice cream earlier this year. Karoun Dairies said in a release that none of its products have so far tested positive for listeria, but the company issued the recall after the CDC and the Food and Drug Administration informed it of a link to the illnesses. Rostom Baghdassarian, chief operating officer of Karoun Dairies, said the company is doing a full in- vestigation. 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