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Show nntTVPTm r wmmm Wwm nVTAH BASIN STANDARD. Sen ember 2. Pate 1999- - 11 USU professor becomes nations first NASA extension specialist Beins the nation's first NASA sponsored Extension specialist dom not moan Utah Stata Univarsity's Philip Raamuaaen will be helping people grow cropa on tha moon or Man- - Ha will ba pairing hia tisa in uaing information gained agea a Extension's tiea with local communitiee to help people use tha nat amount of re motely aanaed daU that already exists to better manage the Earth and its reaounea. Remote sensing is tha term commonly applied to gathering information from a distance, usually with sensors aboard satellites or aircraft. But Rasmussen prefers to call what he does common sensing applying high tech tools in a low cost way . That ia not hard to do now," Rasmussen said. For exam pie, GPS (Global Positioning System) equipment that coat S20 to $50 thousand dollars a lew yean ago ia available for SI 20 now. There is even a lot of free information availatlo, but people don't always know bow to use it or when to find it." Teaching peopla to use that information is what Raamussen.with the helpof trained Extension agents in each countv in Utah, will da The new position has created a partner ship at USU between Extension, the Utah Agricultural Experiment ana the Rocky Mountain NASA Space Grant Consortium. Remote sensing data can be applied to so many areas that it cute across disciplines, bringing together agriculture, engineering, natural resources end others. For example, images mad by remote sensors equipped to see light can immediately show land managers detailed information about how dense vegetation is in a given area, as well aa a look at activities and the effects of d the spread of invasive plant species. Farmers can use satellite informa their crops. tion to better-manag- e Precision agriculture, aa it's called, usee satellites to help pinpoint where soil needs water or fortilixer and where the highest and lowest yields came on particular fields. "This information ia a potential benefit to farmers trying to make a specialists was the creation ofNASA Space Grant Consortium Director Julius Dasch. His deeire to get valuable. useful satellite data into tho hands of people on the ground, led Dasch to tho idea of using tho Extension service which has a decades-ol- d system of helping people use scientific information to improve their farms, homes and communi- ties. Tt was very astute of Dr. Dasch to think of NASA being partnered with the Extension service. No other group has such tanka to so many . Je and ia already working with federal, state and county governments to get information to people all over the country," Pasmussen said. While he ia proud to bo tho first ed NASA Geospatial Extension Specialist, Rasmussen ia pleased that hell soon have company as Arixona and Mississippi bring their specialists onboard, and is already talking about a cooperative project with Arixona to manage invasive plant species and water use in the arid west d faculty in 1981. He is coordinator of tho Western Regional Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program and an assistant director in the Utah Agricultural Experiment Station and USU Extension. Ho has served as head of the Plante, Soils A Biometeorology Department at USU since 1996. He received hie bachelor's degree in soil science with e minor in physics from USU and was s PhiKappaPhi honoree. He earned his master's degree at USU in soil physics, and completed hie doctorate in soil physics and remote sens- ing at Kansas State University. Farmers around the state know him as Phil," a nickname earned for his dedication to spreading reduced-tillag- e research via demonstration plots throughout Utah. He ia also known for his expertise in microcomputer and elec tronics applications in agriculture, and with Robert Gillies, assistant "No-Ti- ll professor of biometeorology, helped develop computer laboratories that allow USU students in agriculture, engineering rt and natural resources to use y state-of-the-a- Rasmussen is a professor of soil science at USU, having joined the date. remote sensing Regional Council hears Welfare to work update Where is Utah? People in Europe want to know Not even the Olympics bribery scandal has been able to make Utah a household name in Europe. A telephone survey commissioned by the Utah Travel Council found that only 8 percent of tho respondents in five European counties recognised Utah as a state ia the American West. Those who had heard of Utah used such words as "genealogy, "polygamy, "Bible Belt," cheesy Americana" and "tha Osmonds" to deecribe Choir impressions. Tho top three terms associated with Utah were "the LDSMormon church," "desert" and "mountains." The responses are all sterotypic, but they are also weak, said professor profit in a global market, Rasmussen said. Tt can help reGary Bamassy.i who led the project. duce use of unneeded herbicide and This should be looksd at as a real opportunity to build up a good impesticide because people know exago aa opposed to just looking at it actly where they should bo used. A computer and GPS tystem aboard a a a 'Oh my gosh, they dost even know where wo are," tractor will help Carmen apply corResearchers from the University rect rates and even creates s permaof Utah and Vrye University in nent record of what was used, how much was applied, where it went.'1 Amsterdam questioned 2,563 people weather esaditisns and tha time in a random survey ef listed trie- the work was done." phonenumbers in France, Germany, "It also makes sense to use preciItaly, the Netherlands and sion agricultun techniques on gnlf United Kingdom. Tho date were gathered between course," ho added. "Golf courses an among tho single highest ueen March and June 1999, several months after the scandal over Utah's of nitrogen fertiliser per acre, and bid ta host tha 2002 Winter Gamas that can effect grou-- water. Satelbroke. lite data can help managen deride Fewer than 10 percent of the where its necessary to fertilise and knew which state was respondents to their greens green irrigate keep without overusing reeourcss. hosting tho 2002 Winter Olympics. That number jumped to 19 perant SateUitos help wildlife managwhen researchers asked if they had ers by providing information about heard of Salt Lake City prior to animals' habitat and climate and even by tracking animals equipped puMirity over the $1.2 million ia inducements given to International with radio collars to help managen undentand migration patterns. Olympic Committee members and their families by the Salt Lake bid Rasmussen's common sensing may boosters. also help communitiee with land "Given that Utah has been ia the use planing decisions as ths state's as ths host state, I don't think news population grows. can we depend on the Olympics" to Extension Ths concept of NASA lure Europeans to Utah, said travel near-infrar- off-roa- member (from left) Jill Goodman. Bob Jameson. Paul Nielsen. Dick Jones POWER PLANT TOUR-Coun- cil listen loD.G&T spokesman Mike Brixcy describe power plant Daggett Co. Commissioner and Council member Jim Briggs is on far right. council research coordinator Jon Kemp. Travel council officials had hoped news reports about tho scandal would have a positive effect on Utah's image around tha world. Recognition of Utah as a future Winter Olympics host was highest among residents of France and Holland. Ba mossy attributes that in part to news coverage of Anton Geesiok. the IOC member from Holland who waa reprimanded when money bom the Salt Lake bid committee went to a sports foundation that bears hie name. And France has a long association with tho Winter Olympics. ha Reprinted with permission of the Deeerrt News. At its Oct. 14 meeting at the Deseret Power Plant, the Uintah Basin Regional Council received an update on the welfare to work promin the Uintah Basin. The State ps of Utah enacted a limit of36 months for which families could receive a monthly cash welfare grant. Since the time limits begsn in January of 1997, the first group of people will stop receiving the welfare assistance on Dec. 31. The manager of the Vernal Office of the Department of Workforce Services (DWS), Vint DeGraw, reported that four families will have their cases closed on Dec 31. DWS staff will continue to work with the individuals to find suitable employment. Food stamps and other medical programs will continue to be available. Three yean ago, when the time limits took effect, the Vernal Office had 256 receiving monthly cash welfare assistance. Over the past 34 months, nearly all have either found employment, relocated to another area, or for soy, rf.her Radon testing will let you breathe easier not dangerous when diluted by outdoor sir, but when trapped inside, it can build to dangerous levels. Testing your boms or business for tho presence of radon gas is ths only wsy to know if elevated radon levels exist. While your neighbor may have an acceptable radon level, this is not an indicator of radon exposure in your home. Homo construction difference, outside draft Radon is a naturally occurring gas produced by the breakdown of uranium in soil, reck, and water. It has been found at high levels in every state in America. Radon en- ters foundation homes, through indoor appliances and cracks and other openings, from patterns, even indoor activities ran make a surrounding soil, and sometimes marked difference m the radtwJevri 'teonUMMoateo wril water . The gas is -- reason, are no longer receiving tho monthly grants. DeGraw said that the staff of tho Vernal Office have worked very hard to assist parents of these families in upgrading job skills, finding gond employment and staving on the job tn Roosevelt, DWS Office Manager Toni Ansel reported that eight families will have their cases closed on Dec 31. Here again, staff will continue to work with the parents in helping them locate suitable employment or alternative avenues of support. Three years ago, in Roosevelt, C93 families were receiving cash welfare assistance, and nearly all of those individuals have found suitable employment end are no longer receiving welfare grants Deaerrt Generation and Transmission Cooperative boated the Council and provided a tour of the plant prior to the meeting. The Regional Council provides oversight to activities ana programs of the Department of Workforce Services. in your home at any given tune The Utah Safety Council recommend that every home be tested to ensure safety. To obtain more information or a low coat radon teat kit, please contact the Utah Safetv Council at SO 1 ) or (800) 933-594-3 outside the Salt Lake Metro. 262-540- 0 hnhnnoii n Vernal Roosevelt 1DSS SATELLITE 646-828- 8 Television 3843S.Hwy.40 781-235- 5 1827 S. 1500 E. L'BTA COMMUNICATIONS delivers more channels, more choices DIRECTV OIRFCTY OKM NimtHfk 12 5S 1 JY Y Y Y 1 n Y ofan acknowledged sbortafe ofhealth SAN JUAN COUNTY-Afteryee-ra care in B landing, two organisations are scrambling to build health-car- e facilities ia Blending. San Juan Health Care Services baa continued ite long-terproject of securing land and binding for coostructioo of a $3.7 million building. At approximately the same time. Blue Mountain Medical hai announced they have secured the ftinding and will begin construction ofa facility ofthetr own. The San Juan Record Y Y Y' L 2 Y 1 " o i 2 1 - S 4 spending two days lost and running out of water in the Behind the Roeka wildernem otudy area, two brothers, ages 18 and 20, became stranded on a ahrif above Rim Rock Road. The pair succeeded in attracting the attention of residents ia a neighborhood a thousand feet below who then called 911. -- The Timm Independent Y MOAB-Af-ter TOTAL MOVIE CHOICES: 93 18 DIR1CTV Pnh" rrvvnck at a controversial debate that baa become a metaphor for the vagrancies of city and country living; pigs are on tho Nov. 2 ballot ia TOOELE-Amid- Stockton. The debate over pigs In Stockton has polarised moot tows residents and brought fears that instead of marching toward the 21st cantury.Stocktoo ia instead sliding backward to tha 19th. But the issue haa also raised charge of pig discrimination, pitting notions of freedom against thorn of conformity, and to some indudee "hidden agendas." Transcript Bulletin sn hmw mir - NBA league Riw NHL Center We owners in Sutherland. Hinckley and Drocret MILUUmCOUNTY-Pwpff- ty walla are receiving apologies from the state, and explanation for 20 dug on their land without permission In tha past two weeks, tho stata haa occurred. drilled 64 wells. No one is quite sure bow the mix-uThe problem apparently began after the Division of Water Quality received a grant to provide baseline information en ground water in Millard County. A side benefit of the project ie to monitor any effect chicken manure applied to fknnere' field may have on ground water, Sqrlereaid.-Chroni- cla Inrvnjjc 30-fo- ot "tSPNARS SHOOTOUT WNBA Season Riw p Harrison, Uintah County. Commissioner Harrieoa was on of eight commissioners from Utah who testified last wvek in Washington at an H R. 3035 hearing by the National ! public Lands Subcommittee chaired by Congrvaamsn Jim Hansen . Tlwbiggetf medtapUywm given to testimony by Governor Mike leavitt and Secretary Bruce Babbitt. Vernal Express CoW - r hj 1 1 a? I SPN Came Plan Mpfc.i March Mania vp-- e CNNNpprt Illustrated ESPN ESPN2 ESPN C1jc ESPNEWS FOX SnorMVrid. we need wilderness, but public lands should be used for the s, greatest good for the greatest numberof people, stated Commissioner Cloyd h u- E SPN.FulMTourtj VERNAL-Ye- SAN JUAN-- A missing link showing a definite link between dinosaurs and hifdfh been discovered by 8an Juan County paleontologist Stephen and Sylvia Cterkaa. The remarkable specimen from China originally waa found on the opea market in the United State and brought to the attention of the Cserka, li rectors of the Dinosaur Museum in Blanding. They plan to return it loan study- .- San Juan Record institution in China after A 0 f't Outdo life Rejtpnaj Spvri Speech i won i I DM -! n Sfl1- - "l -- A w. McN- f TOTAL SPORTS CHOICES: i. 0 - o o p Q 0 1 j i o Channel jOuhhCha,,,,L DlfttCTV. - o Jl 29 - |