| Show Serving Utah's Great Pahvant Valley USPS 349 - 520 Vol 91 No 1 July 12 2001 Emergency meeting on crickets and grasshoppers Utah's leading experts on grasshoppers and Mormon crickets will offer advice and answer questions from the public at an emergency meeting Friday evening July 13 at Millard High School 200 West Center in Fillmore The meeting sponsored by Utah State University Extension will begin at 6:30 pm in the school auditorium and Jay Karren USU entomologist state entomologist Ed Bianco Utah Department of Agriculture and Food will be among a panel of experts briefing the public Officials representing federal lands in Utah will also be hand Utah is coping with the worst festation of grasshoppers in eight years and of crickets in about 60 years More than 13 million acres of land have been overrun by the insects Central Utah is the worst hit area especially Millard Tooele Juab Sanpete and Sevier Counties but pockets of infestation are in most other counties as well The insects have3 devastated crops and landscapes and possibly threatened by health by entering culinary water systems “The problem we are experiencing is not going to disappear by itself" said Karren “This could happen every year for the next 50 years if we don't work together and come up with an ongoing program to stop it" The public meeting July 3 w ill help Utahns know what they can do immediately to fight the insects and what they can do to lessen the problem in years to come Karren noted that until a few years ago the federal Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service did surveys in the fall and spring to detect the scope of the cricket and grasshopper populations and take preventive measures to contain them The system worked well he said Recently however APHIS has not had funds to do the surveys Utah and other western are currently appealing to Washington to restore the funds USU Extension offers a website with to help citizens fight information grasshoppers and crickets at http: officials extensionusueduhoppers Health Department urges Hantavirus caution With the summer cleaning of garages cabins and campers comes the increased possibility of Hantavirus exposure warns Robert Resendes Health Officer for Central Utah Public Health Department “There have been 17 identified cases of Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (HPS) in Utah to date About one in three of these cases has proven fatal’ said Resendes Hantavirus is spread by rodents to humans The Hantavirus presence worsens whenever conditions favorable to rodents exist “I am particularly concerned about the large number of Mormon crickets this year as a ready and abundant food source for mice which has the potential to inResendes crease rodent populations" said Central Utah Public Heal reminds everyone to exercise extra caution when entering and cleaning areas that have been unoccupied or unventilated throughout the winter months particularly when the area is known to have been infested with ro dents Hantavirus infection though rare is quite deadly with about a 50 percent morality rate Of the 17 known Utah cases five have ended as fatalities Of the five known cases in Cen- never mix bleach and ammonia together In addition homes and other structures such as cabins trailers and sheds should be rodent proofed by sealing holes or cracks entering the tral Utah two have ended as fatalities with both of those cases being in Millard County Latest CDC information has found that the virus is present in the droppings saliva and unne of rodents primarily deer mice Humans who breathe in the virus as a mist or dust may become infected and contract HPS Humans may also become infected by touching their nose or mouth after handling materials contaminated with the virus or by an infected rodent’s building Rodents should be eliminated through trapping and cautious use of poisons For heavily infested or enclosed areas such as crawl spaces or cellars please contact your local or state health department for additional cleaning guidelines Symptoms fo PS usually appear within two weeks of exposure but can appear as early as four days or as late as six weeks after exposure Early and include 0 symptoms are 104F fever chills headache muscle aches (joint and lower back pain) and bite When cleaning areas known to be infested with rodents areas should be sprayed down with a general household disinfectant such as Lysol or a bleach and water solution (three tablespoons per gallon of water) Individuals should wear latex or rubber gloves while cleaning the area Remember nausea vomiting and occasionally abdominal pain This disease within 24 to 72 hours progresses to difficulty in breathing which is caused by a fluid buildup in the lungs Anyone experiencing these symptoms after direct or indirect exposure to rodents should contact their doctor or health facility immediately CERT training payoffs Knowing what to do and how to react in emergency situations helps rather than hinders professional responders as CERT graduates discovered during this week’s Holden flood The 17 Holden residents were ready to provide immediate assistance orvolunteers and ganize spontaneous document information They knew basic first aid search and rescue planning techniques and rescuer safety They also had been trained to use a fire extinguisher control utilities and address signs and symptoms victims and workers may experience “The training worked perfectly in Holden and all the graduates worked hard and late doing what was necessary It was a much different scenario than w hat happened dunng last year’s flooding in Holden and I was really pleased to what was happening" said Janet Lindquist CERT instructor CERT is about readiness and people helping people It is a positive and alistic approach to emergency and saster situations where residents will initially be own their own and their actions makes a difference With training they are effective Lindquist added Flash Flood Hits Holden by Knox Huntsman Residents of Holden were wishing for some rain to cool the temperatures and water the lawns but they never bought into an estimated four foot wall of water rumbling through town July 8 around midnight The problem started when the foothills east of Holden and west of Interstate 15 had a brush fire August 2000 and the flood jprotecting foliage was destroyed Rain started around 10:30 pm Sunday night and continued to increase then nature sent a wall of mud and water through the low lying areas The Old Wild Goose Creek Wash is in the bottom of the flood plain and it caught the brunt of the flood Holden’s Mayor Brent Bennett said it was the most water that he had seen three in his 50 years of residence times more water than last years flood Bennett said the burned area had been and the Forest Service had planted trees in critical areas to mitigate future flooding but it was not handle this storm All day to enough Monday teams of fire fighters and filled and placed sand bags to brace for two more days of possible rain and flooding said Bennett Mayor Bennett and the City Council would like to thank the many volunteers who helped especially the Kanosh Fire Department that pumped out several of die fifteen basements that were flooded Long time resident Frank Thomas owns a home centered in the old wash The flood w as over 100 feet wide and mud residue was observed four feet above the bottom of the wash Tho mas had constructed a retaining barrier east of his home to help mitigate future flooding to his property Thomas said the wall of water removed the barrier and other equipment and vegetation on his property Thomas said he was resigned to repurchase and replant what was washed away The neighbors who were awake when the flood hit told Thomas that it sounded like a freight train and felt the ground tremble The wall of water broached Inter state 15 for almost one mile south of the Holden south exit The water flowed over the north and south bound lanes Muddy water was several inches deep causing a one car roll :50 over and a two car collision about p m Trooper Gordon Mortensen said the w ater was four inches deep on the freeway when he arrived at to investigate the accidents The accident victims were taken to Fillmore's hospital treated for minor injuries and released Several inches of mud was observed on parts of the freeway 2003 Kern River Expansion Project by Knox Huntsman T rooper nabs jewel By thieves Kathy Walker Trooper Cordon Mortensen stopped a vehicle Sat July 7 traveling 88 mph on north of Holden and discovered more than SI million in jewels about two hours after an armed robbery in Murray occurred The vehicle’s dnver did not have a cense or insurance nor did the 1990 Lincoln Town car belong to him or his two passengers The three suspects got out of the car while Mortensen conducted a routine inventory after impounding the vehicle A few pieces of jewelry was found under an arm rest in the rear scat and Mortensen assumed the male suspects had purchased them at a swap meet or yard sale He was surprised when he noticed a $32000 pnee tag on one of the bracelets After searching the passenger compartment Mortensen found a backpack filled with jewelry and a handgun inside the vehicle's trunk Meanwhile one of the suspects ran from the scene into a nearby field That suspect was found a few minutes later by Deputy Clete Carter and his Rings necklaces bracelets brooches and watches were among the covered jewelery The men were allegedly part of a team of seven armed suspects who robbed the Deseret Jewelry Excharge Store 6580 S State St in Murray at 0 40 a m and were headed to Las Vegas Mortensen said The handgun had been stolen from Phoenix about a year ago The three suspects were arrested and transported to the Millard County Jail Later the Murray City Po (poor COPY re- lice took custody of the men The value of the recovered jewels ranges from $1 to $5 million The difference may be in wholesale costs versus tail price Mortensen said Williams is one of the nation’s transporters of natural gas and is among the foremost builders of natural gas pipelines in the world The five interstate natural gas pipelines owned by Williams deliver natural gas through a 29300 mile pipeline network stretching coast to coast and border to border W illiams’ Kem River pipeline system is a vital artery for bringing natural gas into California Nevada and Utah The present Kem River pipeline runs from southwestern Lincoln County Wyoming to the San Joaquin Valley near Bakersfield California Professional Engineer and Kern River Expansion Project Manager Micheal G Dunn said additional natural gas and pipelines are necessary due to an increase in demand for natural gas by die public and electrical utilities The proposed 2003 Kem River Expansion will follow the present pipeline as near as possible The Utah pipeline segment includes 340 miles of 36 inch pipeline located in Summit Morgan Salt Lake Utah Juab Millard Beaver Iron and Washington counties The new pipeline will consist of 762 miles of pipeline laid mostly in the existing Kem River ay at a 25 foot offset from the existing pipeline The proposed aboveground facili ties include the construction of three new compressor stations the installation of additional compression units at four existing stations and compressor restage at two existing compressor stations New compressor stations will be sited in Uinta County Wyoming Salt Lake County Utah and Clark County Nevada The $ 2 billion expansion project will double the amount of natural gas transported through the Kem River system When completed the amount of gas transported on the Kem River 7 bilsystem w ill be approximately lion cubic feet per day When converted to megawatts of electricity that is enough energy to light 10 million homes said Dunn Dunn said to construct an interstate natural gas transmission pipeline Williams must first file an application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Williams plans to file an application with the FERC by August 2001 An Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) w ill be prepared to address important issues Williams will meet with each landowner along the proposed route to negotiate the Williams will identify the concerns determine a fair market value for an easement and identify ways to mitigate the impact to landowners’ property said Dunn Williams is committed to prov idmg fair and equitable compensation to The amount of compensation paid to landowners is determined by the land's use the amount of land affected the land's market value and the amount of impacted vegetation As part of the easement negotiations a Construction Stipulation Agi cement is prepared to define Williams' land and obligations during construction restoration activities Williams anticipates I FRC approval by May 2002 with construction starting June 2002 and the system operational by May 2003 Williams’ I illmore District Manager Larry C Ryan said the Fillmore facility is responsible for the operation and maintenance of 340 miles of pipeline between Davis County and the Nevada boarder including the pumping station in Millard County He will be responsible for the new pumping station in the Salt Lake valley The Kem River Project has approximately 30 clients including Qucstar Chevron Mobil and Sheri Oil who deliver natural gas to the start of the pipeline in Lincoln County Wyoming and Williams transports the natural gas south where the clients tap into the pipeline to remove their natural gas for distribution to their customers said Ryan |
