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Show Page A2 JTiit (Timfa-3nhrpenhf- Thursday, October 10, 2002 nt Police seek woman in connection with motel fire A fire causing an estimated $3 million m damage, raged through a Green River Motel Saturday night and into Historic picture of Moab od Grand County sifting through charred remains in the motel Sunday. Sun- day morning The blaze destroyed half of the Book Cliff Motel before it was brought under control Emery County officials on Sunday were searching for a woman they say might provide answ era on the cause of the fire Firefighters from Hunting-toand the tow n of Emery responded from their home base hours away Moab fire crews were not asked to assist, a spokesman said, even though they were muth closer that those in Emery County Emery County Sheriffs Detective Jeff Thomas said the woman was apparently planning to spend the night with a truck driver in the motel where the fire started. Our deputies responded to a domestic dispute in the room about 4 45 p m Saturday night," Thomas said. The pair was having a verbal dispute. The truck driver decided he wanted to leave, so he took off, but the woman said she was going to take a bus. Everyone departed and officers received the report of the fire about an hour later at 6.02 p.m. The fire burned for nearly eight hours and smoldered until daylight Sunday morning. The Utah Highway Patrol kept Green Rivers main street shut down for longer than six hours because of the fire. A Look Back in Time representative from the Utah Fire Marshals office was A Have a picture you would kke to share? Submit it to The Ttmes-lndepencte- There appears to have been an accelerant used, said Deputy Thomas. The fire marshal hasnt given us a final report, but it sure looks suspicious, he said. The fire began in an older section of the motel where ruums were being rented by the day and to guests. It quickly spread from room to room tow ard a newer section. Mem-ber- s of a construction crew working on the nearby bridge n long-ter- Firefighters in pictures above and below work for hours to guish this Green River blaze. Photos by Doug Ward extin- m over the Green River were called into action to tear a hole in the motel and create a firebreak. The fire was really moving fast when the fire department got here, so the manager and the firemen decided to save tiie new section by creating a break in the building , Thomas said. Tiie truck driver was later located traveling Fire crews from Huntington, Emery and men and equipment from a construction company working on the Green River bridge battled flames that destroyed half of the Book Cliff Motel Saturday night and Sunday morning Samo old, same staff writer The director of the Peace Officer Standards and Train- ing (POST) academy confirmed last week that Kent Somerville, candidate for Grand County Sheriff, will be allowed to complete a recertification program if he wins the Nov. 5 election in Grand County. The recertification would be completed over a two- - to three-weeperiod in November and December, said POST Director Sid Groll. That is a longer time period than Somerville suggested during an interview with The last month, but far shorter than the more than training POST program required of new law enforcement officers. To be k Times-Independe- two-mont- h Somerville must complete training and pass examinations in five areas: firearms qualifications, emergency vehicle operations, a review of defensive tactics, a written certification exam, and updated legal training. Groll said he also recommended that Somerville study current correctional law because the sheriff is responsible for adminis trative oversight of the Grand County Jail. Some of the areas for will take about one day, and other might take longer, Groll said. He said state statutes typically require full academy training for individuals who have been out of law enforce- ment for longer than four years. But the statute allows the shorter program in some instances. Theres a clause that allows me to consider the individuals past experience," he said. Weve also sometimes made exceptions in rare cases, such as a gubernatorial appointment, or, as in this case, an election. But generally, in almost all circumstances, weve had individuals go through the full academy." Somerville received a ter from Groll last week cially verifying the letoffi- The bottom line is I will have plenty of time to if complete my I win," Somerville 6aiu last week. I hope this puts a stop to rumors that I do not qualify for sheriff." Somerville said he has received numerous telephone calls from voters asking about his certification status, and even though he has assured them that he can qualify, the rumors persist, he said. Im fed up with this. Ive tried to keep an even keel in the race). I can and will be to be sworn in as sheriff in January, 2003." Sheriff Jim Nyland was surprised to hear Friday that his opponent in the sheriffs race will not be required to complete the longer training. Ive talked with the people at POST about this, and I was told the training would take at least two months, Nyland said. But even if hes allowed to do a shorter training, if he happens to win, whats the guarantee hes going to pass the certification? In the 960s, Moab Mayor Norman Boyd gave U. S. Sen. Wallace F. Bennett information about Moab's problems and aspirations. Does the Senator bear some resemblance to a currently sitting U. S. Senator from Utah? You bet. He was Sen. Bob's dad, T--l file photo through Wellington, w here he provided officials with information about the woman. She is described as being about 32 years old with dishwater blond, shoulder-lengt- h hair. She weighs about 180 pounds and is between 5 feet 3 inches and 5 feet 5 inches tall. She was last seen on foot on Main Street in Green River, Officials thought she left town immediately, but were investigating re- Mayor breaks tie Continued from Pape A 1 removed the word paid" from the amendment to the personnel policy. I had over 20 people call me to tell me they thought it was a great idea, but did not believe city employees should be paid for time spent in the classrooms. Im in office to vote the public will, not a personal agenda, and so thats what I did. ..voted the way the majority of people felt, continued Davis. ports that she was seen around town as late as 8 p.m. Nyland said he believes the voters have a right to know Somervilles status. Right now hes not certified, and thats an issue. Some people have asked me about it, and Ive just been giving them honest answers. But I havent made a special point to tell anybody. Im campaigning for Bank announces program Judge Mary Manley displays $100 worth of gift certificates which were contributed by an anonymous donor to support the efforts of the Grand County Family Drug Court. The court uses gift certificates and other incentives to reward participants for staying off of drugs so they can be reunited with their children. The new program is not currently funded and relies on expenses or contributions to reward the accomplishments of the participants. Judge Manley, along with public defender Happy Morgan and assistant attorney general Christina Richard, are responsible for establishing the Family Drug Court m Grand County. Pictured. Mindy Humphrey, Division of Children and Family Services; Happy Morgan, Chnstina Richard; Rick Donham, Four Comers Behavioral Health; Judge Mary Manley; Irf Carlson, DCFS; Dixie Dalton, Utah Frontier Project, Steve Shafer, DCFS, Barb Domenick, participant in Family Drug Court, and Connie Mower, guardian ad litum. This team helps people sue as Domenick reclaim lives stolen by drugs. The court anticipates dozens of success stones by the end of its first year in operation. Currently eight people are participating. her classmates sentiment saying, Im sure this is Wells Fargo, the nations largest retail mortgage and home equity lender, this week introduced a way for consumers to finance a home and immediately be able to manage the equity in their home like other important assets. The new Home Asset Management8 Account combines a mortgage and home equity line of credit, as well as a variety of exclusive features, into a single account that can be used to manage cash flow, gain potential tax advantages, plan for major expenses, and invest for the future. For most families, the home is not only their haven, it is their largest source of wealth, said Pete Wissinger, president and chief executive officer of Wells Fargo Home Mortgage. Not surprisingly, homeowners want to access and control this investment just like their other investments, and want to know how it is performing. Now, with the Home Asset Management Account, they can manage the equity in their home as they would something the student coun first-of-its-ki- Increases to your line of credit give you access to grow- Support for Drug Court Several students contributed their ideas to the discussion. Jonathan Mosher, senior at the high school, kicked off student participation by saying, I dont see whats wrong with asking teachers to do the job they are paid to do. Alicia Diehl, 10tk grader at GCHS, said, Why not let us do it? Develop a mentoring program where you hook high school students up with Red Rock students and we can read to them. If there is a problem getting adults to volunteer, we can do it instead. Rebecca Francis echoed my own self." When an individual files to become a candidate for sheriff, the candidate must sign an affidavit certifying he or 6he will be certified as a peace officer prior to taking office in January, said Diana Carroll, deputy clerk of Grand County. State law does not allow individuals who have not completed POST certification to serve as sheriff. any other important asset. For the consumer, the features and benefits of this unique mortgage and home equity combination include: One account means you no longer need to complete a second loan application to access your equity, wait for a second approval or pay a second application fee. In addition, interest on the equity lines is usually tax deductible. Quarterly and annual reports track changes in your equity and provide an indexed value of your home, while monthly statements track your payments. ing equity. Your credit line increases quarterly as you pay down your mortgage, and annually, should your home increase in value. You must maintain acceptable credit and can decline or limit increases to the line of credit. The flexibility to lock in interest rates allows you to convert a line of credit with a variable interest rate to a fixed. rate loan when rates are most attractive. You get the predictability of a set monthly payment, and you can choose when and how much you want to convert. Payment schedules you set to match your cash flow and -- long-ter- m financial plans. Convenient account access lets you use the equity as needed by writing a check, using an electronic access card, making a phone call or visiting a Wells Fargo store. The Home Asset Management Account is available through Wells F argo Home Mortgages retail offices, including more than 1,600 mortgage stores and Wells Fargo banks in all states except Texas. The account can be used for both purchase and refinance transactions on any primary residence or second home and is available on a variety of fixed-rat- e and adjustable-rat- e mortgages. Interest rates on the program compare to other mortgage and home equity lines. single-famil- y, owner-occupie- d iW'iwiiiWMW(wWb t cil would be interested in helping with." Kyle Bailey insisted the reading program is simply an expansion of what the city already does in the Grand County School District. We already send our police officers in to educate the kids about drugs. Do we want to pull them out or quit paying them to do that? The reading program is just a different dimension to what we are already doing. Bailey supported bringing the amendment back to council for reconsideration after it was approved just two weeks ago, stating employees are hesitant to par- ticipate because the council couldnt reach a unanimous vote. At Tuesdays meeting, the council did not discuss the impact another split vote would have on the success of f the program. The amendment to city policy will allow employees to be paid to participate in the reading program for a period of one year. At the end of the first year, city council will review how much time and money was spent on the citys partici- pation in the program. Protest for peace Continued from Page A 1 ings known to Congress now, especially with an election coming up, maybe Congress will listen. Dissent is American, War is Terrorism, Peace is Patriotic" and War is not healthy for children and other living things," were only four of many messages on dozens of handmade signs carried by the protestors. A brief verse of the chant all we are saying, give peace a chance rose from the crowd and transported the assembly into a scene from the 1960s and 1970s. The crowd consisted of people from all walks of life and ranged in age from children to senior citizens. Kelly encouraged attendees at the rally to email or call Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia to make their antiwar sentiments known. Byrd is considering a filibuster in the Senate when the resolution to make war on Iraq is brought to vote this week. According to Rev. Dan Webster, communications director for the Episcopal Diocese of Utah, four concerns have served as a catalyst for the Stand for Peace statewide endeavor. The first is that the U.S. has never waged a pre- emptive or preventive war. America has never allowed a first strike as part of our 4 Puis old... 1 POST director: Somerville can be certified in time by Lisa Church ni 4 countrys defense policy. Second, writes Webster, the proposed U.S. action of going it alone" is further testimony to this country distanc- ing itself and alienating itself from the worldwide community of nations. The group is also concerned about the innocent deaths that occur as a result of war. The conflict in Afghanistan, says Webster, shows us that precision bombing" is a term that lulls people into believing bombs can kill only combatants. Finally, Stand for Peace cites an incalculable economic impact on Iraq if the UJS. bombs that country. Webster and other critics of Bushs policy point out that Iraq and its innocent residents are already suffering greatly from sanctions. Webster also says that diverting more UJS. funds toward a g military will strain efforts to budget fight unemployment, hunger, poverty and homelessness in the United States. war-makin- The peaceful Moab dem- onstration was part of a series of ongoing events, film, and discussions designed to educate and inform Grand County residents about worldwide affairs. The group actively protests war and violence as a solution to terrorism and other international conflicts. OOR |