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Show Vais. "mrinriniTinri Ihyn&Df Friday Partly Cloudy Mostly Sunny High 49 High 55 Low 21 Low 23 Sunday Siiudsy Partly Cloudy High 50 Low 23 Partly Cloudy High 46 Low 28 t ttjjrtt . - & m Moab Community Theater is getting ready to hit the stage. Picasso at the Lapin Agile will play iater this month and in February. See Page B3. JMS i&L Pirelli Tires has just filmed a commercial here. Tires en masse rolled down a hill. See Page Bl. h, 3M A itw Serving Moab and Southeastern Utah Since 1896 MimuTim-M- T Moab places moratorium on blinking signs Council votes 1 to prohibit new approvals for 3 months 4-- ii i by Franklin Seal staff writer Administrators at Allen Memorial Hospital announced a hiring freeze, a freeze on wages and other staff benefit cutbacks Tuesday, explaining the moves were necessary in order to make up a budget deficit of $178,000. The benefits to be cut include con tributions to a retirement fund and a long-terdisability insurance premium for hospital workers. Workers still will retain retirement benefits already paid for, but will not be credited for time this year. The hospital also announced there would be no annual pay increase. Administrators blamed the temporary cutbacks on shrinking federal sup m Continued on Page A2 Inside The Times Business Directory Basketball action al GCH& Grand High Schools Dusty Steele drives straight for the basket in a game last Friday against Duchesne. Despite hot shooting on the part of the Red Devils, Duchesne came out on top in the game. Steele made his here, was fouled in the process, and picked up the extra point in a big t play. Moab plays Monticello here on Friday evening. See Sports, A3. Photo by Lindsey Marshall Page hard-foug- two-point- er three-poin- Obituerftt , Visitation to Arches increases by nearly 30 in December; numbers up nearly 4 for year Arches National Park experienced a whopping 26.9 percent increase in visitation during December, bringing the 1999 total visitation there to 869,980. That was up 3.9 from 1998. A total of 13,381 people visited Arches during a mostly sunny December. Canyonlands visitation, for all units, was up 6.6 in December, and up 2.2 for the year. A total of 5,240 visitors were recorded in December, with the total 1999 visitation listed at 446,160. Island in the Sky was the most popular draw, hosting 3,161 visitors in December and 1,263,494 for the year; more than half of all Canyonlands visitors. The Needles section was up slightly in December, but down 1.3 for the entire year. A total of 158,692 people visited Canyonlands in 1999. Both Canyonlands and Arches, de- spite increased visitation, reported lower over- night stays than the previous year. Natural Bridges visitation was down 4 in December, but showed a 2.2 gain for the year. Hovenweep National Monument showed a big gain for the year-102--- with The Needles section of Canyonlands experienced a 1.3 drop in visitation last year. Wooden Shoe Arch, pictured above, is in the Needles. Photo by Sena Flanders 47393 visitors logged The increase was attributed mainly to the manhunt for fugitives that took place there during the summer of 1998. Weather Stats B3 . B4--7 A4 A5-- 7 AS 1 a TdtYteis-r- t Listings Alleged assault occurred during New Year's Eve altercation Mayor plans to recommend West be reappointed as police chief by Ken Davey by Ken Davey For the first time, a Moab resident has been charged under Utahs hate crime statutes. Twenty-one-yea- r old Jaric Robison has been charged with assault, the result of a New Years Eve altercation in the parking lot of a local convenience store. Grand County Attorney Bill Benge said because there were racial overtones, what would have normally been a misdemeanor charge has now been bumped e felony, and that up to a means if Robison is convicted he could face a prison sentence. The case goes back to the Dec. 31 between Robison and his friend run-iBryan Ballard, 21, and a couple, a white male and a darker-skinne- Mayor Karla Hancock announced Tuesday she will soon submit to the city council her appointments to bead city departments. Those appointments include po- staff writer third-degre- Oflisndar Clessffleds, Notices .... Dining, Lodging Guide Editorials, Utters mean the hospital is acting responsibly It means the hospital is coming up with a balanced, realistic budget to keep the hospital going," said Bob Jones, member of Moab Valley Health Care, the local entity that ojierates the hospital for a Grand County special service district Were thinking if we do this for one year, Continued on Page A2 staff writer cial sales. A federal judge in Salt Lake City issued an order to the city allowing the sign to keep operating. The judge said he believed the motel would prevail if the case went to trial. Since then, Greenwell Motel owner JJ. Wang has also applied for a similar sign for his new Motel 6 now being built along Highway 191 at the north end of port for medical assistance programs mandated by the Balanced Budget Act. The primary program affecting AMH revenues is Medicaid, they 6aid. Do the benefit cutbacks mean Grand County's only hospital is in trouble? I think its always had troubles," said CEO Chuck Davis. But he and other hospital managers emphasized that the cutbacks Dawn of 2000 brings city's first hate crimes charge 4-- whether the sign was permitted under the law, concluded the sign violated a provision that all lighted signs must be stationary and constant." The city took the motel to court. Justice Court Judge Paul Cox found the motel did violate the ordinance, but also concluded that if the Greenwell left the messages on for more than three seconds, the sign would be legal. The motel altered the time each line of text was displayed to about 4 seconds. The city said that did not meet the criteria of the ordinance, and told the motel to turn the sign off, adding if the motel did not comply, its business license was subject to revocation. The motel went to court, contending the sign was simply an electronic version o changeable message signs allowed throughout town, where restaurants and overnight accommodations welcome groups to town and display spe- I Hospital cuts benefits to balance budget staff writer but later, following queries about -- " i by Ken Davey The first meeting for new Moab City Council members Gregg Stucki, Rob Sweeten and Kirstin Peterson featured yet again a discussion about amending the Moab sign ordinance, when the council voted 1 to enact a moratorium on new electronic message signs in town. The moratorium is to give the city time to look at more permanent rules and regulations governing what has become a controversial issue here. Some local business owners, including motel owners and managers, came to the meeting to express their concern that city sign rules are too restrictive. The Moab Chamber of Commerce distributed to the council a statement indicating that a number of chamber member businesses also feel the ordinance may be too harsh in regard to the flashing sign issue and other provisions. But instead of opening up a long public discussion, Mayor Karla Hancock, chairing the meeting, decided to schedule in the near future a joint councilplanning commission workshop followed by a public hearing to find out what residents think. The central issue concerns signs similar to that at the Greenwell Motel, which electronically displays to motorists on Main Street, on a rotating basis, advertisements on motel amenities and rates. The city says those signs flash and blink, and are not allowed. The Greenwell and other businesses disagree. The city issued a permit for the sign, Thursday, January 13, 2000 'New record high temperature-o-ld record of 58 was set in 1995 n d woman. According to a Moab Police report, the couple told police the two men yelled white power and other racially charged taunts, including Biblical references. The couple allege that as they were entering their truck the two men approached the vehicle and that Robison grabbed the door handle. They also say that Robison and Ballard made threats, including the statement that the couple live next to killers you will find out. The couple live in the same east-sid- e trailer court as Ballard. The couple allege that the two men had fashioned a swastika out of Christmas lights and displayed a Confederate flag at Ballards trailer. At the point that Robison moved toward their vehicle, the woman told the police she informed Robison she had a canister of mace. She then waved over Moab Police Officer Russell Pierce, who was in the area. Pierce, a Moab native but relatively new officer who joined the force last Autumn, talked to the participants, and called another officer, Eddie Guerrerro, to the scene. Over the course of the next two hours the police spoke with all four of the subjects and the mother of the woman. Police reports indicate that Robison and Ballard acknowledged using racial language, but denied any threats. Robison said he never came closer than three or four feet to the door of the truck. And while the couple said Robison made references to them living next to killers, Ballard said it was the male member of the couple who said the couple had lived next to killers in the past. And Ballard said the male flipped him the bird, a slang expression describing an obscene gesture. The racial overtones of the situation convinced the police and the Continued on Page A2 lice chief, public works director, treasurer, recorder and city attorney for r terms expiring on Dec. 31, 2001. In recent days some local residents have been organizing a camof paign to derail the Alan West as police chief. Hancock says she plans to submit Wests name to the city council, which can approve or reject an appointment, based on council members opinions of whether or not the nominee is capable of performing the duties of the job. Two years ago West was by a margin, with council two-yea- 3-- 2 members Richard Cooke, Bill and McDougald Joseph Lekarczyk voting yes and council members Kyle Bailey and Dave Sakrison voting no Sakrison, McDougald and Cooke are no longer on the council, all three of them deciding not to run for last November. So the decision as to who will be police chief now goes to the new council members, Kirstin Peterson, Gregg Stucki, and Rob Sweeten. The controversy about the police began following the shooting death of John Dinsmore by a Moab officer in November 1997. As is customary in shootings by law enforcement officers, the case was investigated by an outside agency: the Grand County Sheriffs office. County Attorney Bill Benge concluded the shooting was justified, and the case file was sent to the West Valley police review panel, which affirmed Benges opinion. But public criticism of the police here in Moab continued, and in last year's municipal elections two candidates, August Brooks and Kent Somerville, made replacing the police chief a major plank in their campaign platforms. Brooks finished fourth and Somerville sixth in the race for the three city council seats. At Tuesday evenings city council meeting Rob Sweeten suggested that Wests appointment be delayed until the conclusion of a management audit of the police department. That management audit was suggested last year by City Manager Donna Met2ler, whose job duties include supervision of the police department. Metzler has stated in the past that she believes the department is generally well run, and that an audit may allay the concerns of some residents. POOR COPY ; |