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Show Utah Press Association Tear Sheets County Fair: Various events featured, A10 •* Salem: Salem Days 2C 1521 E3900sste 100 J Salt Lake City UT 84124-1550 Guardian of Your Community News enttnel SERVING SPANISH FORK ^2&* SALEM • MAPLETON •WOODLAND HILLS • ELK RIDGE VOL. 4 / NO. 32 formerly The Spanish Fork News WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 12,2009 50^ E-B property hot topic in Mapleton MIA Korean vet, receives military honors Setting Things Right Christy Hardman STAFF WRITER On Wednesday, Aug. 5, the Mapleton City Council held a public forum to discuss the soil remediation for the Ensign-Bickford property, a 500 acre area that sustained severe contamination from explosive manufacturing from the 1940s on. Mayor Laurel Brady reminded all in attendance that the discussion was for learning purposes only, and there would be no decision or vote about annexation until the council has fully investigated all available information. The property is still up in the air on whether it will remain in Spanish Fork City or if Mapleton will annex it. The cost of extending utilities to the property from Spanish Fork is, according to Mayor Brady, "horrendous," so in that regard it makes more sense for it to become annexed into Mapleton. Jack Evans from Presidio Capital is partial owner of the acreage now, and he was in attendance, along with state officials from the Utah Division of Solid and Hazardous Waste Committee to explain the extensive efforts that have gone into remediating the contaminated soil. The city and citizens of Mapleton have been dealing with issues of contaminated water for a long time. In the early 1990s, the city became aware that city and private wells were contaminated by the explosives plant, and Ensign-Bickford paid out a large settlement to families who lost loved ones due to contaminants. There are still, and probably always will be contaminants in well #1, but Brady said the water is isolated from other sources and shouldn't cause further risk to residents. "We believe the water issue has been handled," Mayor Brady said. "Tonight we're learning about the ground contamination." Jack Evans is the managing director of Presidio Capital, and along with the other owners of the property, plans to do two projects on the site within the next three years or so, a Mapleton village with 565 units, as well as drilling another well with a 400 billion gallon water tank. Brad Maulding with state contamination committee said they've remediated the contaminated soil in three ways. They've incinerated 90,000 tons in kilns, removed over 200,000 tons to the East Carbon landfill, and the rest that is low level, low risk contaminate dirt, will be put all in one place, and capped with two feet of clean soil and planted with native vegetation. It will be maintained as open space with prohibitions and controls, including frequent inspections. Mapleton resident Phil Budgy said he's been an engineer working for the government for much of his life, and in his experience, caps do not work. "Contaminants seep up," he said. But Maulding assured they've looked at the possibility for seepage, and selected sites where conditions are best for maintaining control of the seepage. "We're satisfied with this location," he said. Mayor Brady said that the city attorney has assured them that all liability for future problems with contaminants falls back on Ensign-Bickford, regardless of which city the property is part of. "Whether the property remains in Spanish Fork or not, we all have an interest in it," Mayor Brady said. "We've all been impacted by it at once time, and we have to understand the implications. The property will still be next door to us." She also reminded citizens in conjunction to other concerns that were raised, that if Mapleton wants to maintain any control at all on the property, they need to annex it. After the state signs off on the property that it no longer poses a risk to human health, there will be a 30-day public comment period on the site management plan for residents to express any questions or concerns they might have. For more information on the public forum or information surrounding the EnsignBickford property, refer to mapleton.org. V Marilyn Nielson STAFF WRITER A man who was missing and then declared dead in the Korean War has finally been given a memorial service with full military rites. Master Sergeant Edward William Hereth's widow, Sestia Burch of Spanish Fork, and his son. Rick Hereth of Salem, were able to participate in the service honoring their husband and father at Camp Williams Tuesday, Aug. 4,2009. . Eddie, as Hereth was known, came from New York, where he joined the military at age 17. He served in Germany and France during World War II, after which he came home, was discharged from the military and worked privately at an alfalfa mill in Kansas. "At that time, my father just couldn't support his family — including three children from my mother's previous marriage — doing that," said Rick. "So he re-enlisted in the military." Eddie was told he would not have to go overseas again. In June of 1950, the family was transferred to Washington. "We loaded up all our possessions and the five kids in our old Pontiac," Rick said. "We had to put springs on the car to allow it to hold all the weight." But after one month in Washington, Eddie was sent to Korea, and Sestia and her children packed everything up again and moved back to Kansas to wait for him. Courtesy photo MILITARY RITES: Pictured, left to right, are Susan Hereth, Rick Hereth and Sestia Burch at the memorial service for Edward William Hereth. Sestia wrote to her husband while he was in Kiirea, and he wrote back faithfully. As the year progressed, his letters assured her he would be coming home for Christmas. But near the end of the year, the letters stopped coming. The army declared him missing on Nov. 30,1950. "Although it happened in November, my mother wasn't notified that my father had been declared missing until Jan. 7th of 1951 " Rick said. "She worried that something was wrong because she wasn't getting any letters. But she kept writing to him, just hoping that he was still all right." "I only have a few memories of my Dad," Rick said. "I remember him having me help carry in the wood that he'd chopped for our stove, and telling me what a big boy I was to carry so much wood." But although he was only five years old at the time, Rick said he vividly remembers the day the telegram came to notify his mother of his father's missing status. It was a very difficult time for the family. Three years later, Eddie was declared dead on Dec. 31. 1953. No remains * were ever found. Burch raised her children by herself after her husband's death. "She was a super-mother," Rick said. "It's incredible that she was able to do that by herself." Burch saved every letter her husband wrote from Korea, and later Rick typed them up and made a book of them. Burch was also given back a box of her own letters which See SOLDIER • A8 Dutch oven comes to Utah County Fair Namon Bills EDITOR What do you get when you combine gourmet cooking with pioneer heritage? The Utah County Fair Dutch Oven Cook-Off, Saturday, Aug. 15 from 9 a.m.-l p.m. in the northeast grassy area of the Spanish Fork Fairgrounds. Mapleton's Damon Faust was recruited to organize this inaugural County Fair cookoff, and he's gathered some world-class talent to help out. One of the nine judges will be reigning world champion Dutch oven cook Terry Lewis. Faust himself is no stranger to Dutch oven competition; he's currently fifth in the world. Lewis and Faust have teamed up in the past, winning the Idaho state championship and the Utah State Fair last year. The County Fair event is sanctioned by the International Dutch Oven Society, and the winning team will qualify to compete in the 2010 world championships in Sandy. Teams will also be competing for cash prizes, with $400 for first place, $200 for second and $100 for third. Faust said the prizes should attract some of the top Dutch oven cooks in the state. "We could have quite a few teams. ... This should be one of the biggest [cook-offs] in the state," he said. The two-person teams will begin setting up at 8 a.m. Saturday morning. There will be a Courtesy photo TIME-HONORED: Above, Damon Faust and Terry Lewis team up to participate in a Dutch oven cook off last year. Utah's Dutch oven tradition dates back to the Mormon pioneers. cooks' meeting at 8:45 a.m., a field judge will check all of the pots, and cooking begins at 9 a.m. with competition divided into two classes. The advanced class will compete with three pots: a bread, a main dish and a dessert; the novice class will do two pots: a main dish and a dessert. Field judges will ensure good food-handling procedures throughout. Although due to Health Department regulations, no food can be served to onlookers, crowd participation is encour- aged. The public can come to observe the cooking process and ask questions. "Part of the judging is interaction with the public," said Faust. At 1 p.m. the judges will sample the various wares and award prizes. Dishes will be judged on everything from seasoning and visual appeal to creativity and originality. There is also the possibility of receiving bonus points for difficulty. There are no regulations as to what participants can cook for the contest. Faust said that often winning entries will exhibit a high degree of creativity. "Anything you can cook at home, you can cook in a Dutch oven," he said. Given Utah's love of Dutch oven cooking, Faust hopes there will be a lot of public interest in the cook-off. "We just really want good crowd participation," he said. "It is exciting to watch. It's really gourmet. Some of these people have competed at the world championships." |