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Show SERVING MOAB AND Moab, Grand County, Utah 84532 SOUTHEASTERN UTAH SINCE 1896 Thursday, March 20, 1980 Volume 86 Number 1 2 Phillips inks pact on Grand potash project Phillips Petroleum Company has been granted an option for exploration for potash on some 60,000 acres of land in Grand County where Buttes Resources Company has been doing potash exploration work for the past two years. The announcement that the major petroleum company had been granted an option came late Wednesday afternoon. Buttes Resources, a subsidiary company. of Buttes Gas and Oil Co., has drilled a number of potash test holes on the federal land block after receiving approval two years ago from the Bureau of Land Management to proceed with the exploration program. At that time, it was pointed out in public hearing held throughout the area that if the potash ore bodies were as extensive as earlier drilling indicated, and if Ui.g.A i.uLt TT'fT7" 3siFC ismm ... Ticaboo Motel Ticaboo Motel. Soon ready for occupation by miners who will await the completion of the town Ticaboo, this structure will provide additional services such as a grocery store, beauty parlor, laundromat, drugstore, post establishment will be among the first businesses office, recreation hall and adjacent gas station. A to open, if all goes as planned, said business manager Vicki May. She added that any company desiring to locate in the complex will have to conform to the architectural style. Located at the highway, a mile from Ticaboo, the complex will also serve tourists en route to Bullfrog Marina. See feature, Page B1. fast-foo- d City votes to turn landfill operation over to County 1981. At a meeting Tuesday, March 18, month, until Jan. 1, will retain The ownership of city the Moab City Council voted to turn Councilman Jim the property. over management of the sanitary the with met Wiseman County landfill to Grand County on May 1 to discuss the of this year. The city will continue Commission Monday CommisThe transfer. possible to pay half the cost of the operation, on the action no took sioners up to a maximum of $1,000 per proposal, but agreed to study the matter. Mini-Maratho- n Wiseman also reported on a $50,000 grant from the National Park Service to be used for improvements at the landfill site. In a letter to Dr. D. D. Parker, director Moabs annual of the State Bureau of Solid Waste running event will be held on Management, approval was reSaturday, March 29, at 9 a.m., quested for the purchase of a and featuring both front-en- d loader for $45,000; a races along the Colorado Rivers trash containment fence for $3,250; scenic a survey of the landfill boundaries everyone who registers will receive for $1,000 and improvements to the a Mugs will be awarded for landfill access road using the first place winners in each division. remainder of the grant. Divisions are mens and womens, a public hearing, the Following 13 14 to and under, 19, 20 to Council voted to transfer ages $7,000 in 29, 30 to 39, 40 to 49, and 50 and revenue from the money sharing over. sewer fund to the park fund to pay Joanne Cannon, at the Chamber for improvements to the citys of Commerce office, said it would tennis courts and to cover the cost be beneficial, although not abof the new irrigation system at City solutely necessary, if runners Park. The total cost of the register before the date of the race. improvements is $47,000. They should be at the Visitor CenCouncilman Wiseman reported ter an hour before the race starts, 20 contractors did business in that and will be transported to the starMoab last year without obtaining a ting points, if necessary. city license. Councilman Marge Finishing point for the race this Tomsic recommended that building year will be the City Park. Ms. withheld from any Cannon said she already has 104 permits be contractor who has not paid the paid entries, mostly from out of license fee. town, and projections are for from The Council approved the hiring 300 to 500 participants this year. signup running ahead of 1979 Mini-Maratho- ile n 13-mi- le 8. easement. In response to a question from Councilman Keith Peterson, Mayor Harold Jacobs stated that applications for the position of City Administrator would be accepted through March 28. The Council discussed the possibility of having the local Job Service office assist with the screening of applicants. College classes for high school seniors A E are open to high school seniors in the Moab area. Seniors registering for USU spring classes should check first with their high school principal, then complete registration at the SUCCE office. Those seniors approved to take college classes will have their registration fees paid by the Grand County School District. The deadline for registration is Friday, March 21. mosquitoes and subdivisions At a meeting Monday, March 17, the Grand County Commission voted to accept the final plat for the Voth Subdivision on Spanish subValley Drive. The seven-lo- t division is part of Rickell James met with the Commission to discuss the mosquito abatement program. She suggested that the county consider fish in planting mosquito-eatin- g the slough area, northwest of Moab. Commission Chairman Harvey Merrell remarked that arrangements have been made to drain the sloughs this spring. Commissioner Larry Jacobs added that spraying for mosquitos will be kept to the minimum. Following the discussion, James agreed to serve on the Mosquito Abatement District Board. City Councilman Jim Wiseman met with the Commission to discuss the possible transfer of operation of the Moab sanitary landfill from the city to the county. No action was taken, although the matter will be considered at a future date. The Commissioners were also introduced to Jim Adamson, who has been named district sanitarian. A brief discussion followed regarding possible sanitation problems in Castle Valley and Elgin. The Commissioners agreed to accept a bid from Mahoney service Chevrolet for a one-totruck. The successful bid totaled n $6,705. Commissioner Jacobs asked that the Commission consider transferring funds from the County Road Dept, to the Sheriffs Dept, for the purchase of an additional patrol vehicle. ve Jacobs suggested that revenue sharing funds be used for the County Clerk Bobbie purchase. 99 6 Domenick stated that two public hearings would be required for the with the first being a remarked that many western transfer, use hearing. proposed required communities have unbilled water was suggested that funding It use of 50 per cent, which is regarfor the purchase might be obtained ded as normal. from the hospital budget, following AdOther factors affecting the total the management transfer to The Health Systems. include bulk water sales, system vanced has accumulated a fund of county treatthe at flushing, irrigation ment plant and recreational field $80,000 to be used in place of and testing by state engineers. malpractice insurance. Domenick explained that the fund will have to Robinson said that the remaining be maintained for several years percentage of unbilled water use, before becoming available to the about 12 per cent, is most likely The Commissioners agreed county. due to inaccurate readings from to investigate other potential fundmeters at the city sources. ing sources before making a He said the city had tested for decision on the purchase. water quality twice as often as The Commission met with City required by regulation. All of the Councilmen Keith Peterson and tests indicated good water quality Keith Brewer to discuss allocation of $3,000 provided by the state for at all sites tested. housing improvements for needy During 1979. Robinson ex- homeowners. plained, accounting of water use and production was improved, along with an improvement in Aide terms city water sys t e ni Ex cellent Utilities 1 Coordinator Don Robinson presented a comprehensive water system study to the Moab City Council at a meeting Tuesday, March 18. On the whole, Robinson said, Moab has an excellent water system, with potential for expansion. He commented that, although there are some problems in the system, improvements can be made. During 1979, 639,701,895 gallons of water were produced. This is up slightly from the 1978 total of 616,851,856 gallons. Robinson explained that the imposition of water rationing in 1978 resulted in a decrease in use of 19 million gallons, making production during both years almost identical. He added that the city will be capable of increased production this year. Tests indicate that no more than 2,200 gallons per minute can be put through the main transmission fine to the city. The line is designed to handle 4,000 gallons per minute. The reduction appears to be caused by additional structures in the line. He commented that the situation may change, depending on the plans of the Water Conservancy District. 4 During 1979, Robinson said, Moab City had 6 wells producing water. At the beginning of this year there were only 4, due to poor performance by Well No. 5 and the temporary abandonment of Well Na 9. He remarked that there are at present plans to obtain an additional second foot of water from a source located nearer the city than the present sources near the golf course. Well No. 9 was abandoned last July due to poor production and excessive drawdown. Use of the well cut production of Spring No. 3 by 50 per cent, he said. Well No. 5 also produced poorly and the water quality was low, resulting in Robinsons recommendation that the well no longer be used. He stated that wells 10, 6 and 7 are overworked and well No. 11 is the only alternative source. According to the report, 65 per cent of the water produced by the record keeping, allowing for more system was not reflected in water accurate planning and control. At the present time, the city has billing to city customers. One 1 million gallon water for the two reason difference, major storage Robinson said, is the sewage tanks. Plans have been made to intreatment plant, which uses about stall a third tank. During peak 1.5 million gallons per month. Ad- usage last year, in excess of 4 ditional water was used at the golf million gallons per day was used course and City Park. Robinson by the city. -- Times-Inde-pende- nt would be constructed. The property in question is in the drainage of Ten Mile Wash, some 15 miles northwest of Moab and directly due west of Canyonlands Airport. Although now under ownership of the federal government, the State of Utah, through its Land Board, has been negotiating to gain ownership of the land under the lands transfer procedure, whereby the federal government grants title of federal lands to states in exchange for state lands that have been included in national parks, recreation areas and Indian reservations. Dr. Holmes states that although Buttes would retain some interest in the project, if it decided to proceed with development, Phillips would be the operating company. Local Manager for the Buttes operation is Robert R. Norman. in-li- eu County discusses Acres. of three new police officers: Ramon J. Memmott, Brian Ballard and Robert W. Setzer. A public hearing was held on the proposed abandonment by the city of an easement between the Job Service office and the Claus and Adkison accounting office. The Council voted in favor of the abandonment. Ken Curtis of Job Service stated that plans have been made to expand the parking lot behind the building over the former total of 21 classes offered during the spring quarter by SUC-C- solution mining and solar evaporation tests were successful, the operation could become the largest single employer in Grand County. Dr. Cliff Holmes, manager of the Minerals Department of Phillips in Oklahoma, told The Wednesday that his company would proceed immediately with a drilling program. He said that one rig would be on location and drilling during the month of April, and that a second drill site will be located shortly thereafter. The drilling program to be undertaken now by Phillips, along with tests on the solar evaporation process and an analysis of the potash market, would determine whether or not the project would proceed into the development phase, where large solar evaporation ponds, large brine extraction wells and a potash refining mill Campus closure ? The issue of possibly closing the campus at the Middle School during school hours will be discussed at a meeting of the PTA which will be held Thursday, March 27, at 7 p.m. in Star Hall. One or more representatives of a group of people who have been circulating a petition to close the campus will be present to explain their reasons and alternatives. Virginia Cheatham, president of the Middle School PTA, pointed out that the issue is a school district policy issue, and would ultimately be decided by the Board of Education. She said, How do you feel about this issue? Come to our PTA meeting and lets discuss it. Between us maybe we can come up with some solutions and answers. Moabite against lease . . . The Utah State Land Board last week approved the leasing of a land in Garfield County to Shandon Corp. The section of section in question is located about 3 miles south of Ticaboo, where a townsite is currently under construction. According to board member, Paul Rattle of Moab, Shandon Corp. facility on Section 32, plans to build a service station and with an initial expenditure of around $500,000. Mr. Rattle and Hollis Hullinger, a board member from Roosevelt, opposed the lease, feeling that since the State of Utah had some obligation to the success of Ticaboo as a viable community, approving a competitive facility only 3 miles away might have an adverse effect on Ticaboo. The motion, however, was approved by the Board. state-owne- d boat-storag- e Small pipeline in Grand. . . The Utah State BLM office has received an application from the Ambra Oil and Gas Company, of Salt Lake City, for a pipeline in northern Grand County. According to a BLM spokesman, the pipeline will be used to gather patural gas from a series of wells on Windy Mesa. located north of The wells are located on a federal lease tract. The proposed wide pipeline will be 3,212 feet in length, requiring a The BLM is proceeding with the preparation of environmental assessments prior to making a decision. Interested persons are invited to make comments on the proposed pipeline to the Moab BLM District right-of-wa- y 20-fo- ot Manager, P.O. Box 970, right-of-wa- y. Utah 84532. Spelling Bee winners ... 9 The Moab Teachers Center has announced the names of Grand County students who will be participating in the District Spelling Bee, to be held Thursday, March 20, in the room at Southeast Elementary beginning at 7:30 p.m. The students include: Ronnie Graham, Sandra Davis and Torrie Page from HMK; Jody Webb, Kami Leech and Ricky Lemon from Southeast and Penny Snowden, Kerri Turner and Tracy Cooper from the Middle School. The winners of the competition will represent the district at the State Spelling Bee. multi-purpos- w ' ' 5? e ' ' ? J Weather Next week Close-u- p . . . on Thompson, Utah: Lester Rogers, landowner and longtime resident of Thompson, Utah, describes life In this persistent little town as it was, as it is, and how he sees it changing. |