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Show Sanpete Messenger/Gunnison Valley Edition Wednesday, November 28, 2007 Cleanup progressing, but Top Stop leak continues to affect lives By Suzanne Dean Publisher GUNNISON—While only one family, the Jeremy Taylors, are still evacuated from their home, and while measurements indicate gasoline vapors are diminishing, the huge Top Stop leak continues to impact human lives. One of the starkest examples is Joyce and Richard Townley, owners of a home at 20 E. Center St., three doors east of where Top Stop was located. Joyce, 63, an amputee who had health problems before the leak was reported, says that after months of constantly smelling gasoline fumes, her health declined, she was less able to walk around her house with her prosthesis, and her blood pressure rose. When the fumes got really bad, her husband and son, who had no previous health problems, got headaches and nausea. Joyce says her doctor told her, “You really need to leave.” The Townleys got away to St. George for a while, and she started feeling better. They returned, and she started feeling ill again. “Wind River has made it so I’m not safe in my own home,” she says. The Townleys, who are both retired now from the Utah Department of Corrections, were assigned to Gunnison temporarily in 1990 to help open the Central Utah Correctional Facility. They decided to stay. Both retired with more than 20 years of service. But the past six years or so since they retired have been rife with troubles. They planned to spend some years traveling, and bought a motor home and a membership in a motor home park association. While parked at one of the association properties in St. George. Joyce fell in the motor home and broke her ankle. The break required surgery. Her surgical wounds became infected with the dreaded MRSA bacteria (the acronym stands for methicillinresistant Staphylococcus aureus), which is resistant to penicillin and other antibiotics. She went through five more surgeries to try to cut out the infection. But the bacteria destroyed her bone, leading to amputation of her left leg below the knee. Then the infection spread to her spine. She was Lifeflighted from St. George to the U. of U. Medical Center, where she nearly died. The high fevers associated with the infection caused her consultant took readings in their home and got mixed results. Joyce says she still smells fumes, but the smell is different than the gasoline odor she and her husband have smelled for months. “It’s a burning smell,” she says. Hess told her the new odor is benzene, a gas similar to carbon monoxide and a byproduct of cleanup efforts that involve burning the gasoline which has leaked into the underground. “ ” “Wind River has made it so I’m not safe in my own home,” —Joyce Townley right leg to develop “drop foot,” a condition where the foot locks in place and no longer flexes up and down. That has made walking with a prosthesis all the more difficult. Joyce says medical and related costs maxed out their medicare and insurance benefits, and depleted their savings. Her prescriptions still run $600 per month. In December, 2005, the couple came back to Gunnison. Despite their plans to travel in retirement, Joyce says, “We didn’t sell our home because that’s always been our safety net.” Her strength started to return. “I was feeling good,” she says. “I was building up so I could walk around my home with a walker.” But about May, 2006, about three months before the gas leak was reported, she started to decline again. On Aug. 10, Joyce says, Wind River ran a trench a few hundred feet up Center Street on the north side of Top Stop, installed a pipe and used a vacuum device to suck vapors into the pipe and from the pipe into the air. Joyce claims the filter on the vacuum device was burned out. Raw fumes from the pipe shot up into the air. “There was never a let-up,” she says. That’s when her husband and son got sick, too. About a week ago, Joyce says, Lance Hess, Gunnison City’s independent environmental The Townleys would prefer to leave their home until all fumes are gone, but they can’t afford it, Joyce says. So far, they have not been offered any assistance. Although Wind River Petroleum reported the leak to the state and initiated cleanup in August, Joyce says, “We smelled the gas long before that.” In fact, she used to help out at Top Stop. The staff measured the gasoline in the tanks every morning, she says. Based on those measurements, Wind River had to know, long before August, that gasoline was going into the tanks that wasn’t being pumped out into vehicles, she says. Wind River President J. Craig Larson says Gunnison residents who need financial assistance should contact the city to set up a test. “We’re ready to assist those who have a verifiable displacement situation,” he said. Larsen said the company had made payments to the Taylor family, who own a home at 255 S. 100 West, and to James and Madeleine Wallace, whose home is on Center Street right behind the Top Stop site, a couple of houses away from the Townleys. (The Wallaces returned to their home last week.) Larson said environmental consultants for both Wind River and the city have checked out numerous homes, but the majority have tested negative for gas fumes. Les Penington of Wasatch Environmnental, Wind River’s consulting firm, described his firm as being somewhere near the middle of overall cleanup efforts. “Emission readings at the two SVE (soil vapor extraction) sites on the east and west sites of Main Streets have decreased 50 percent from when we started in late August,” he said. Another SVE unit is in partial operation near the Taylor home, but it hasn’t been operating long enough for a measurement trend to be established, Penington said. Workers will construct additional trenches through backyards between 100 and 200 South and behind the Casino Star Theater, and will initiate additional extraction efforts at those locations. Penington said SVEs would continue to operate until measurements show that vapor levels in the ground are low enough to meet state criteria. “The investigation continues and more remediation may be required,” he said. Jesus Mendoza, Fillmore, pleaded guilty to theft and DUI, felonies. Sixth District Court Judge David L. Mower sentenced Collins to zero to five years in the Utah State Prison. Mower suspended the sentence and placed Mendoza on probation contingent on him serving 90 days in the Sanpete County Jail and paying a $2,300 fine. Mendoza was returned to Sanpete for the sentencing after being arrested in Wyoming because of the warrant for his arrest issued from the Sixth District Court. Michael Santiago, Koosharem, pleaded no contest to possession of a controlled substance, felony. Sixth District Court Judge David L. Mower sentenced Santiago to zero to five years in the Utah State Prison. Mower suspended the sentence and placed Santiago on probation contingent on him serving 180 days in the Sanpete County Jail and paying a $1,025 fine. DO YOU SPEAK GEEK Earn up to $11 to $13.50 an hour doing Dell tech support! At Teleperformance, I.T. is where it’s at! Right now, we’re hiring tech support people to take incoming phone calls from Dell customers who need help with their PCs. If you have: Six months or more of call center experience and a technical background, we want to talk to you right now. We have: Full- and part-time positions with paid training in Salt Lake, Clearfield and Lindon. We need A+ certified people. If you’re not A+ certified, we’ll help you get there. Call Teleperformance at 1-877-TP-JOBS2 www.teleperformance.com By Kent Larsen Principal Gunnison Valley High School Lyndon B. Johnson said, “At the desk where I sit, I have learned one great truth. The answer for all our Kent Larsen national problems—the answer for all the problems of the world—come to a single word. That word is education.’” About 28 years ago, during my sophomore year at college, I made the decision to become an educator. That is a decision I will never regret. Education can sometimes become a whipping post for some individuals. It’s not hard to find negative articles in the papers or hear conversations with critical comments regarding schools, teachers, principals or education in general. I suppose that’s because schools, teachers, and principals are involved with nearly every member of the communities where we live. On the other hand, there are those who are valued supporters of everything the schools do. Years ago the image of an educator was held in high regard among any professional career. But over time that image has changed. Technology and increased opportunities for our young people to make large salaries, along with the increasing negative impact on education, has prompted our young adults to choose careers other than being a teacher. Next year the state of Utah will be facing a 1,200 teacher shortage to begin the year. That number is the difference between how many our higher institutions of education will be graduating in education, and the number of teaching jobs available. This will certainly add to the negative impact on the whole educational community. Teaching is a great career. As I mentioned above, the decision to become a teacher was a great decision for me. It’s true you will never become rich, but money isn’t everything. Becoming a teacher offers security, health benefits, and retirement. Teachers become teachers because they love to teach, to inspire, to feel the successes of their students. The intangibles of teaching are impossible to measure. In high-performing schools, teachers feel invigorated, challenged, professionally engaged, and empowered just because they are there. A good day of teaching success reminds me of a quote by Emerson: “What is success? To laugh often and much, to win the respect of intelligent people and affection of children, to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends, to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others, to leave the world a bit better.” My invitation to you as parents and citizens is to come to the schools in our community and see the great things that are going on. Encourage children to be successful and to consider teaching as a career. That’s the type of encouragement that I received and I’m grateful for it. Video/DVD Rentals Movie Deals To find out what’s PLAYING & COMING SOON visit http://SanpeteMovies.com DIVISION OF WATER QUALITY Information is gleaned from court records, police reports and interviews with the Sanpete County Attorney’s Office. All individuals are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Sentencing Tara Collins, Gunnison, pleaded guilty to interfering with a legal arrest, a misdemeanor. Sixth District Court Judge David L. Mower sentenced Collins to server 24 days in the Sanpete County Jail and to pay a $500 fine. Collins has already served her jail time. Teaching: The way I see it Do You Like Movies? Compiled by Sara Hansen Katherine Iliya, Mt. Pleasant, is charged with false personal information to a peace officer and minor in possession of tobacco, misdemeanors. In the Interest of Children Theater Listings SANPETE COUNTY CRIME AND JUSTICE Charges Kaleb Hansen, Centerfield, is charged with theft, a felony; vehicle burglary and criminal mischief, misdemeanors. A9 NOTICE OF PERMIT ISSUANCE KAREN PRISBREY / MESSENGER PHOTO Santa brings joy to Gunnison This happy young man, Jesse Peterson, enjoyed visiting with Santa Claus in Gunnison on Friday, Nov. 23 at the Gunnison City Hall. Jesse is the son of Deina and Mike Mitton of Gunnison, and Lance and Iris Peterson of Lyman. Mayfield Community Care Center “Long-term health care that makes a difference” Try our Respite Services Whether you need to leave your loved one for 4 hours or 14 days, you can rest assured they will be taken care of by professional, experienced, licensed nurses and certified nursing assistants. Beds are presently available. We Care Call us at 528-3550 for details DIVISION OF WATER QUALITY UTAH DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY PUBLIC NOTICE OF ISSUANCE OF UPDES PERMIT PURPOSE OF PUBLIC NOTICE THE PURPOSE OF THIS PUBLIC NOTICE IS TO DECLARE THE STATE OF UTAH’S INTENTION TO ISSUE A UTAH POLLUTANT DISCHARGE ELIMINATION SYSTEM (UPDES) PERMIT UNDER AUTHORITY OF THE UTAH WATER POLLUTION CONTROL ACT, SECTION 19-5-104(9) AND 107(2), UTAH CODE ANNOTATED 1953, AS AMENDED. SAID “PERMIT” REFERS TO THE UPDES PERMIT AND THE STATEMENT OF BASIS (INCLUDING TOTAL MAXIMUM DAILY LOADS (TMDL’S)) IF APPLICABLE, AS PER SECTION 303(D) OF THE FEDERAL CLEAN WATER ACT (CWA)]. PERMIT INFORMATION PERMITTEE NAME: Centerfield Regional Culinary Water Treatment Plant MAILING ADDRESS: P. O Box 220200, Centerfield, UT 84622 TELEPHONE NUMBER: 435-528-3296 FACILITY LOCATION: 1600 North Highway 137, Mayfield, UT 84643 UPDES PERMIT NO.: UT0025704 PERMITTED OUTFALLS 001 RECEIVING WATER: Twelve Mile Creek BACKGROUND Centerfield City presently operates a culinary water system, some sources to which have nitrate concentrations that exceed the 10 mg/L maximum for drinking water standards. Centerfield City intends to operate a small reverse osmosis plant for the purpose of providing a pure water source to blend with other sources with elevated nitrate levels. PUBLIC COMMENTS Public comments are invited any time prior to close of business December 28, 2007. Comments may be directed to the Department of Environmental Quality, Division of Water Quality, 288 North 1460 West, P.O. Box 144870, Salt Lake City, Utah 84114-4870. FURTHER INFORMATION The permit is available for public review under “Public Notices” at www. waterquality.utah.gov/. If internet access is not available, a copy may be obtained by calling Matthew Garn at 801-538-9489. Written public comments can be submitted to: Walt Baker, Executive Secretary, Utah Water Quality Board, P.O. Box 144870, Salt Lake City, Utah 841144870 or by email at: wbaker@utah.gov. The deadline to receive comments is the close of business December 28, 2007. After considering public comment the Utah Water Quality Board may execute the permit renewal, revise it, or abandon it. Publish Sanpete Messenger/GV Edition, Nov. 28, 2007. ______________________________ UPAXLP |