Centerville worker injured in explosion

CENTERVILLE — A public works employee here is recovering after being injured last week when a plastic barrel he was draining of oil exploded.

Centerville Police Lt. Paul Child said some public works employees were working on a trailer used to spray tack oil, an oil used as a sealant between existing and new asphalt, to drain some of the oil which had coagulated at the bottom of the barrel.

They apparently were trying to get the drain plug out and decided to use a torch to heat the plug material so it would drain into a plastic bowl placed underneath, Child said. As they were heating the pipe, some of the fumes lighted the barrel on fire and the top exploded.

Child said fragments of the plastic became projectiles, hitting the man on the top of the head. He said the man’s head was cut to the scalp, requiring stitches. He also suffered some abrasions to his head. He was taken to Lakeview Hospital and released.

Child said the oil also has a water component, and normally is not dangerous. They believe that it exploded because it was so concentrated at the barrel's bottom.

mwilliams@davisclipper.com

Kingston lawsuits settled by parties

SALT LAKE CITY — Mary Ann (Kingston) Nichols’ lawsuit against the Kingstons has finally been settled.

So have the counter lawsuits filed by members of the Bountiful-based Kingston family.

The announcement of the settlement came Friday.

While terms of the settlement were not disclosed, Salt Lake attorney Mark Hansen, who represented defendants in the lawsuit did say there was no money exchanged, according to The Salt Lake Tribune. All lawsuits have now been dismissed.

In 2003, Nichols sued 242 family members and 97 family businesses for $110 million, saying she was forced into a polygamous marriage at age 16 to her uncle, David Ortell Kingston. She fled the marriage and said her father beat her until she lost consciousness for the act. John Daniel Kingston pleaded no contest to criminal charges and served jail time. David Ortell Kingston served prison time for an incest conviction.

The family sued Mary Ann and her attorneys for defaming them, with the legal battle taking seven years.

mwilliams@davisclipper.com