Show A2 from A Sanpete and Sevier counties all support the link They have said it could give a big boost to economic development in the region The bill also includes $4tX)0tXJ for teacher training to help rural districts meet requirements of die No Child Left Behind Act The act calls for high school teachers to be “highly qualified” in the subjects they teach which requires a degree or odicr approved ) He said Snow officials plan to lobby for additional federal funds for library construction Jon Ostler interim dean of the library at Snow said "The federal appropriation will enable this fain its cacility to be pacity to deliver distance education to outlying communities” The library is among the top 10 projects on tlie Utah State Building xml's Ii prii irity list for the 2X)5 Legislature and has a chance of gamering nearly SI 5 million in state funds next year The project received a high score from the Building Board partly because the college plans to fund about 30 percent of tlie cost through funds "With this federal appropriation together with the contributions from tlie city and the county City and Sanpete ILphraitn and the Huntsman gift County from the Jon N luntsman Sr family we are poised to secure the nal leg of funding from the state during the upcoming session” said Richard Wheeler vice president for college relations Sen Robert Bennett met with Benson on the Snow campus last summer to discuss the library Later Bennett staff members from Washington met with Benson to get more details Sen Orrin Hatch also supxirted efforts to obtain funding The omnibus bill includes $4(X)(XX) for completion of the environmental impact statement for the Central Utah Rail Project The line from Levan Juab County to Sigurd Sevier County will link up to the main Union Pacific line and facilitate shipment of feed grains into die region and local coal tocxtemaJ customers It will reduce coal truck traffic along US 89 and County commissioners economic development directors in Benson training Yet in many rural districts a single teacher may teach several subjects and the cost of becoming “highly qualified" in all the subjects they teach could be restrictive “I’m hopeful these funds will help offset some of the unrealistic burdens of this law” said Bennett The act also includes $650 000 for a Rural Literacy Project Tlie goal is to train rural teachers to make sure they are using methods of teaching reading The bill includes $20 million for the Environmental Quality centives Program (EQIP) a program that pays farmers and ranchers to implement environmental improvements on their lands There is another $ million for Mormon cricket and grasshopper control and $32 million for sage The sage grouse conservation grouse which inhabits rangelands in central and southern Utah is a threatened species Ranchers say if the bird is placed on the endangered species list the ensuing environmental restrictions could endanger agricultural operations Another item is $48 million to fulfill commitments under the Central Utah Project Completion Act Some of the funds go to entities such as the Sanpete Water Conservancy District for local irrigation projects NO FEE FOR FIRST VISIT (Continued from A ) to 500 applications for assistance this year says Agnes Health Ryan MD heart attacks and strokes as described in The have been linked to Lancet a respected medical journal you or a loved one have suffered a heart attack or stroke which may be linked to one of these drugs call for professional insight Certheo as If Timothy R Krebs JD Cappolino PC Board Certified Adwalt oflhal 312 Houston Sub for Santa Sanpete Likewise Sanpete Sub for Santa has many more requests for toys than it has donated toys to fill the requests says Health The deadline for applying for assistance is Friday Dec 10 Applications are available at the Sanpete Food Bank in the Mt Pleasant Industrial Park the Mt Pleasant City Hall the Sanpete Messenger office in Manti and from A 1) on Nov 20 Fifteen people Mt Pleasant in including Mark county commissioner-elec- t Anderson attended the neighborhood meeting to discuss some of those issues Resident Terry Mahoney identified two of major concerns that citizens have She said even though the county is not liable for repaying the bonds investors could sue the county should Pretty Shield’s venture fail She cautioned that the threat of a lawsuit regardless of whether or not it would be successful should be considered She also brought up the issue of water which became the main topic of discussion at tlie meeting and said that the water source ’for us jm from Messenger (GIC) in Implement 10 Within three days after an application is submitted Sanpete Sub for Santa will contact the volunteer with his or her assignment The target for filling all Sub for Santa requests is Monday may be left with food bank staff or in drop boxes at the other three locations are being entered Applications into a computer and analyzed to Applications Dec 20 make sure no family applies more than once are Volunteer applications available at the food bank Mt Pleasant City Hall and Gunnison Implement and may be dropped in the same boxes as applications for assistance Volunteer applications should also be in by Dec If you aren’t able to be a sponsor you can help by donating a new unwrapped toy in the large trash bins at the Mt Pleasant City Hall Messenger and GIC Another need is for commercial Christmas stockings stocked with toiletries such as lotion the school is a well that has not yet been proofed Anderson agreed that water is a problem and needs to be addressed and that the State Division of Water Rights "has not said yea or nay” on the project John Hill head for Twin Creek Irrigation Company said that the water company has two issues with Pretty Shield’s residential use Also he questioned whether or not there would be safeguards in place to protect against contamination He said that there is a lot of water” in the area making contamination more likely Another concern was expressed by resident Cal Nelson who said “I am not against Pretty Shield but it is definitely in the wrong place If they were in the of us valley about would welcome them” Nelson explained that the area where Pretty Shield has proposed to build is “uncertain" when it comes to weather “It is ridiculous to haul feed to and waste from 120 horses in an area where the weather can be so severe” plan First is that the school as a commercial venture has priority to the water The state allows a flow of 390 per minute for commercial use but the wells in the area put out only 35 per minute If the school’s wells failed to produce enough water it could exercise its priority and possibly cause a water shortage for the landfill would pay Ephraim City a lump sum at the beginning of each year to cover Hansen’s landfill work The amount would bq deposited in the city’s garbage fund Paychecks would be drawn out of the garbage fund and issued to Hansen A 1) landfill into her personal account It was her handling of those checks that led to her being charged with 42 counts of “communications fraud” and two counts of misuse of public monies Sanpete County attorney Ross Blackham believed that the claim of authorization may have some validity and cited it as one reason he allowed Hansen to plead away all but two of the charges after shortly Larry Hansen who was and still is the operator of the landfill But later that arrangement Hansen’s conviction he said “She either had or believed she had authorization to do what she did and there may be something to that” Such authorization according to sources came from former Ephraim City administrator Alan Grindstaff Hansen eventually took on greater responsibility at the landfill and approached Anderson about receiving more pay In one interview with the Messenger Grindstaff said that he overheard a discussion between Haasen and Anderson wherein an additional pay arrangement was made Landfill Hansen’s supporters say direct deposit of checks was one method of compensating Hansen for her work as secretary treasurer of the landfill But Anderson denies he ever authorized such a practice I lansen began working for the landfill early in 1994 the same time Anderson became mayor The arrangement for her pay was that was stopped In subsequent conversations with the Messenger however Grindstaff denied knowing what the pay arrangement was — but Ephraim City records show that this practice was followed The checks Hansen received were not standard payroll checks with payroll taxes withheld but were lump sum checks such as the city might issue to an independent contractor or vendor But the memo on the checks dearly said they were for “landfill clerical” However according to former Sanpete County Cooperative Others Not Certified Gunnison Gunnison peatedly confirmed that there was an agreement Other sources including elected officials say that they knew that some kind of pay arrangement existed but that they didn’t know what it was Several people say that Hansen paid taxes on the questioned money and offer that fact as evidence that she considered it to be legitimate pay But questions remain as to whether all the 42 checks listed in court documents totaling $ 6000 were legitimate compensation Or could it be that just some of the checks were legitimately owed to Hansen for her work? An examination of court documents and Ephraim City records indicates that even the county attorney’s office was confused City records show that several checks included in Hansen’s original indictment were in fact legitimate pay from the landfill Grindstaff said he heard Anderson telling Hansen that when certain landfill accounts came due she should take the payments for her compensation A similar arrangement was in place to pay Member Utah Press Association Post Office & Copyright Sanpete News Company lnc02004 All rights served Reproduction or transmittal of all matter herein is prohibited without prior written permission of the publisher Published each Wednesday for 75 e each $2400 inside Sanpete County $27 00 outside Sanpete County by Sanpete News Company lnc 35 S Main Mantl Utah 84642 fax publisher at: suzannesanpetemessengercom sports to: sportssanpetemessengercom school items to: schoolsanpetemessengercom news to: newssanpetemessengercom ads to: adssanpetemessengercom Deadline: Thursday 5 pm Mantl: 35 S Main Hours: 9 am to 6 pm Periodicals Postage Paid at Mantl Utah 84642 and at additional mailing offices Buy two and Axel Mayfield Spring City Staff Writers Sports Writers Photographers Columnists Jana Wahlquist ttrvlca aqraamant par phone at naxtalcomrabatei THE 1710 Ready to tako action in under a second Color scroon- - large 65K color display directions Speakerphone conferencing Wireless Web Access nformation on the go Suzanne Dean Lloyd Call Sean Hales John Hales Jacque Marsh Lindsay Koglanes Kelly Hancock He also questioned a report to county commissioners by Sanpete Fire Marshall Fred County Johnson that said crews could reach the area within 15 minutes Mayor Chesley Christensen who was also at the meeting agreed with Nelson saying “15 minutes is probably stretching it a bit" Summing up the feeling of most of those present at the meeting resident Jim Nichol said ‘There are more questions that there are answers We feel that there should be more study” 96 North Main m v tm to mi a mm k a iwsm "ft m MhMi taan m trw Mft mM w 0 mm mim Irtrfti mm m ft fnjift0paMMHMM fttm r ' T PdftftRO 0Mrts I ’in m taamaajlm kt Doug Bjerregaard mayor of Mayfield who succeeded Anderson as chairman of the landfill says that the only place landfill personnel papers would be is at Ephraim Bjerregaard M j' Ephraim City was responsible for them although checks made to Hansen did not come out of the city’s payroll account Further depending on the type of employment Hansen held with the landfill she herself may have been liable for those taxes I supports Anderson’s claim saying he is not aware of an arrangement to pay Haasen other than the original plan for payment out of the Ephraim garbage account I' permitting County auditor Ilene Roth was paid for doing similar work with the Sanpete County Fire District Refuting Hansen’s claim he says “I have not never would or never will give someone permission to take certain checks and cash them into their own account” luMda mm employment Grindstaff says that the landfill should have paid the taxes On the other hand Anderson says that Hansen to pay herself using payments to the landfill ever existed On the contrary he says that he arranged for Hansen to be paid at the same rate that Sanpete Richfield — The lack of a contract presents a problem not only because a contract if it existed could confirm what the pay arrangement was but also because questions have arisen as to who was responsible to pay payroll taxes for Hansen’s landfill Gaty Anderson denies that the kind of agreement Hansen’s sup- w M mt mm M "um However other records that could either confirm or refute Hansen’s story that all checks were legitimate have been lost destroyed — or perhaps never existed For instance an employment contract between Hansen and the landfill cannot be found and no one is aware if one was even filled out Anderson says “As far as I know there never was a written contract” porters describe VlDEOTRONIX NEXTEL Judy Chantry C R Truitt Darlene Agren Elva Jensen Audrey Boore Margaret Amy Holly Nicholes Erika Johnson Kathy Eggleston Doug Johnson Jeff Ericksen Craig Cox and Coaches Sean Hales Vern Buchanan Peter Goss Russ Beck Roger Baker Corrie Lynn Player Writers Contributing Karen Buchanan Anita Lyons Nelson also expressed concern about emergency service to the area saying that fire trucks would take at least an hour to reach the area when responding to fires Other records for both landfill and city that do exist are in such disarray that it may never be possible to determine exactly what happened A recent state audit of Ephraim City supports this finding inadequate documentation of the city’s financial dealings in several areas form available Slaak Powerful Staff Moroni phones for $8999 each after Motorola mail-l- n rebate one of them Is FREE 1710 Requires Rebate POST MASTER: Send address changes to: Sanpete Messenger 35 S Mam Manti Utah 84642 Manti Ftn Green Gunnison Centerfield If you have questions about contact the program David Boge at 469-- 141 (his cell phone) or Agnes Heath in Mt Pleasant at city building Several of Hansen’s friends say she recorded her landfill work including hours and checks in a book she kept in her office at the Ephraim City Building But the book if it existed is now missing from city offices and the sources say that Hansen herself does not have it Phone Assignment Reporter Office Manager Administrative Assistant Webmaster toys Sanpete Sub for Santa is being operated under the auspices of First Presbyterian Church in Mt Pleasant so all donations are City But Ephraim City manager Richard Anderson says that he is unaware of any such records at the BUY ONE GET ONE FREE Contact Information UPS Editor & Publisher Associate Publisher Senior Reporter shampoo and toothpaste and other small gifts Generally the stockings will be given to senior citizens The stockings may be left in the same bins as donated Hansen (Continued Ephraim Mayor Gary Anderson who was also chairman of the Sanpete News Company Inc publishing the GUNNISON VALLEY EDITION Deadlines 2004 Bond Request (Continued Speaking A Cawxino 1 Donations Funds (Continued Wednesday December Valley Edition Messenger-Gunnlso- n Sanpete |