Tornadoes destroy several homes in southeastern Utah

Low-income residents of 114-year-old downtown block staggered by proposed rent hikes

Marcel Blanchette’s life has not travelled down a smooth road.

In 2014, he was violently assaulted in his home, an unprovoked attack that left him with severe injuries, including permanent brain damage. He underwent months of hospitalization and rehabilitation. During that time, he learned his possessions had been sold off when the Office of The Public Guardian and Trustee took over his affairs.

Twelve years later, he finds himself in another fight. This time, it comes in the form of a proposal from the new owners of the Conway Court apartment block that would nearly double his monthly rent. While he’s been able to live in the Kennedy Street unit with the support of disability income assistance for nearly five years, the sudden spike, he said, could leave him homeless.

“To go through that, and now I’m going through this, it’s another obstacle,” Blanchette told the Free Press. “I fought the Public Guardian and Trustee, and I’ll fight this too, with whatever I have.”

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Tornadoes destroy several homes in southeastern Utah

MONTICELLO, Utah (AP) — Tornadoes destroyed several homes in southeastern Utah over the weekend, but authorities said there were no reports of people injured.

A storm produced two tornadoes in San Juan County in southeastern Utah over the span of an hour starting around 12:35 p.m. Saturday, according to meteorologist Kris Sanders with the National Weather Service’s office in Grand Junction, Colorado.

The paths of the tornadoes that touched down near Montezuma Creek likely covered less than 10 miles (16 kilometers), but the weather service hadn’t yet determined their exact tracks or wind speeds, Sanders said by telephone. A survey may be conducted Monday, he said Sunday.

Three homes in the area were demolished in the storm, Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren said in a social media post. The 27,000-square-mile (70,000-square-kilometer) reservation stretches into Arizona, New Mexico and Utah and is the largest of any Native American tribe.

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