HE'D BEEN a military hero. Serving with the 1st battalion of the Royal Highland Fusiliers, he'd survived being blown up at least once by the IRA and also served in Iraq.

IT SIMPLY defies both belief and description. The coronavirus scare is like nothing anyone currently living on this planet has ever encountered - and we all need to get used to a world that will change forever. At the time of writing, both the number of those infected and, tragically, the tally of those who do not survive continue to rise sharply.

IF YOU'VE been fortunate not to have had restless nights or indeed nightmares during these hideous times, then surely the projected cost of the lockdown to the nation's economy must have resulted in troubled sleep?

AS IT seems that old saying "Cometh the hour, cometh the man" has never been more apt, it's also entirely reasonable to say the world has been extremely poorly served by a raft of groups and organisations that should have been there to help - but that have failed lamentably.

THE CORONAVIRUS pandemic is forcing the political elite to finally acknowledge what the general public have known for some time; as a nation we have allowed ourselves to become far too dependent on importing essential goods and cheap labour from across the globe. The financial crisis of 2008 exposed as a myth the claim that globalisation would lead to ever greater prosperity for all. The current crisis has made it crystal clear that globalisation, as well as being bad news for our economy, puts lives at risk.

ON MAY 7, 1945, General Alfred Jodl, the commander of German forces in western Europe, walked into a technical college in the city of Reims which served as General Eisenhower's HQ in France.

IN THIS national battle against coronavirus we are fortunate to have our NHS. While most of us are safe at home, 1½ million NHS colleagues go out to help others. I am so proud of each and every one of them on the frontline of this fight.

Yesterday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson told an international video conference that we face a battle of "humanity against the virus". How right that is - and the battle has started. According to Professor Nicholas Hart, one of the doctors who saved Mr Johnson's life, "COVID-19 is this generation's polio."

OSCAR-WINNER Dame Judi Dench at 85 becoming the oldest cover star of Vogue this month highlights how older generations are still making valuable contributions to our national life-and should not be locked behind closed doors.

IT IS impossible to watch footage of the VE Day celebrations in 1945 and not be swept up by the sheer joy of it all - people clambering up lampposts, doing the Lambeth Walk and jumping in the fountains in Trafalgar Square.

WHY was it the fact that Professor Neil Ferguson couldn't keep it in his pants heralded his sacking not his disastrous doomsday projections that forced this country into a financially crippling lockdown?

As Utah readies for a widescale reopening of some businesses and services on May 1, 177 new cases were counted, including 5 in the southwest district.

F-35 jets fly over Utah as tribute to workers on frontline of COVID-19 fight

Utah's pace of applications for unemployment benefits is slowing, but still at historic highs, according to figures released Thursday.

Intermountain Healthcare is accepting donations of homemade cloth face coverings for visitors and non-frontline caregivers at hospitals and clinics.

Dixie State University recently announced both a new educational certificate and a new director for its Atwood Innovation Plaza.

The Southwest Utah health district counted its 100th case of COVID-19 on Friday, while the statewide total rose to 4,828.

Utah gave businesses and facilities the green light to "tentatively" reopen, so here is a look at what is coming back in and around St. George.

As Utah begins loosening its most stringent coronavirus restrictions, larger gatherings will be allowed and most businesses can open, within limits.

Southern Utah's normal tourist hotspots are closed. Other public lands are seeing a lot more visitors.

Southwest Utah passed 100 positive cases of COVID-19 on Friday and the total tally sits at 103 cases on Saturday as Utah nears 5000 cases statewide

Mayor Jon Pike confirmed southwest Utah communities want a "yellow level," which would have lesser restrictions for the public.

A local 501st Legion member discusses his introduction to the Star Wars universe, what it takes to be a trooping member of the worldwide organization.

A company which had contracts with Utah suspended over its founders past associations with white supremacists had an outside data deal, per reports.

Around 60% of Utahns have completed the census. The Five County region vary widely in response rates.

Health officials counted nine new cases of COVID-19 in southwest Utah, although the Utah epidemiologist says infection rates are in decline.

Silver Reef Brewery adjusts production, provides sanitizer to St. George community

Saddlemaker Steve Hafen talks about what it takes to build a saddle to last generations, and how family and hard work are key components in his life.

Officials had asked Governor Gary Herbert to lower the threat level in southwest Utah. He did not.

Once an attraction to international travelers, Washington County Tourism Office shifts marketing toward regional travelers.

Solita Miller, 16, left a Parowan group home in the early morning hours of May 4, according to a press release from the Parowan Police Department.

The southwestern Utah health district counted seven new confirmed cases of the new coronavirus on Wednesday.

With businesses across Utah reopening on May 1, here is what returning to normalcy might mean for the health of St. George residents in the future

The picturesque waterfalls below Gunlock Reservoir are now closed because of the high number of visitors that have been at the site in recent weeks.

A GoFundMe page aims to match the nearly $600,000 that Tia Stokes' non-profit dance group Kalamity has raised for people facing real-life calamities.

Utah counted another 129 confirmed cases of the new coronavirus on Thursday, including four new cases in the southwestern health district.

About 10% of Southern Utah workers have filed for unemployment amid the coronavirus, which doesn't include self-employed and many non-profit workers.

Utah's four Republican governor candidates debated virtually on Washington County issues, including Trump, the coronavirus and Lake Powell Pipeline.

The St. George mayor said the region could be moving to "yellow" as soon as Friday night.

Washington County principal Burke Staheli continues to motivate and inspire students who are studying from home by posting daily messages on Facebook.

A short stay at a nearly-empty hotel has Dan Wyson thinking this rock-bottom time for many businesses could bring prime investment opportunities.

Bradly Scott Hunt, 32, was booked into the Purgatory Correctional Facility after shooting and killing another man late Thursday night.

Israel Ramirez Guardado was convicted Dec. 2 of first-degree murder for the 2018 attack on his 61-year-old mother, Francisca Ramirez.

Southern Utah's latest appeal to move from orange to yellow may be in jeopardy because of the high transmission rate of COVID-19 in the region.

PENSIONERS spend just five years of their retirement in good health, warns new research.

PENSION scam warnings have been issued by The Financial Conduct Authority and The Pensions Regulator after victims were scammed out of an average of £91,000. But how have people been duped by pension fraud?

A “JAW-DROPPING” 1.6 million lost pension pots worth nearly £20 billion are being left unclaimed, according to estimates from an insurance industry body. Savers are losing track of their pension stash due to job changes or moving house, with future retirees potentially missing out on staggering sums for their golden years.

MILLIONS of women are in line for a pension boost following a landmark multi-billion pound High Court ruling. Lloyds Bank was told yesterday it had to equalise pensions benefits for men and women, in what could have huge consequences for thousands of companies.

WE ARE told at every hand that dire misfortune will fall upon us if we do not capitulate to the Eurocrats and continue to make every trading concession needed by EU membership. Perhaps these ladies and gentlemen, oxygen-starved in their Brussels penthouses, could be apprised of some basic facts of life.

No secret that this country has been experiencing rainfall of biblical proportions and that this has caused very widespread flooding of roads and towns, with consequent misery for everyone affected, many of whom are not even insured.