OCR Text |
Show i! jprp rn vA Volume Ninety Tooele, Utah Thursday, May 9, 1985 .Banner Pl&iull A multi-millio- n dollar class lawsuit has been filed against property and business owners of the Bauer chemical plant which closed in 1979. The complaint, filed in 3rd , - j ' , f : 'Ay , ing to the complaint. The waters then flow south to Rush Lake, before penetrating to the deep zone of the regional ground water flow. "It appears . . . that regional flow is to the north toward the Great Salt Lake, back towards Tooele and Grantsville, the suit says. Other allegations in the suit ' wow Dis- CLOSED TO ed water, land, and air quality t unlawfully. Hercules, Inc., Blackhawk Resin Company, Atlantic Richfield Company and Combined Metals Reduction Company are named as defen- V acmiffl! 1 - that Tooele County residents who feel they may have been directly injured by the Bauer operations over the years should contact his firm to join in the class action suit. Mr. Hall, a partner in the Salt Lake law firm of Gustavson, Hall and Williams, says he may be con- or According to the complaint, the defendants "promoted, cooperated and acquiesced in the contamination of the water supply, land surface and ambient air of Tooele 8 arsenic, selenium, cadmium, benzene and toluene. The contaminants are toxic, dan- gerous and regulated chemicals that threaten property, human health, as well as animal health and life, according to the complaint. Mr. Hall says a Class action suit is being filed because of the numerous people affected by the Bauer plant. Other reasons for the class action include: claims are similar, questions of law are common; and Promotions Juggle Troopers Recent promotions have pro- Utah Highway Patrol offices in Tooele County. The 18 troopers and administrative personnel between Tooele and Wendover have received a new lieutenant and sergeant. change was caused by the promotion of Lt. Don Proctor to captain over Utah Highway Patrol Zone One which includes Tooele, Davis, Weber, Box Elder, Cache and Rich counties. Capt. Proctor, 49, a native of Tooele County, has worked for the highway patrol for 26 years. He stated his law enforcement career with the Tooele City Police Department and moved onto the patrol, taking positions all over the state. His position before the promotion was lieutenant for Tooele County section eight. Capt. Proctor is one of five captains for the state. He resides in Grantsville with wife, Jean. The couple has four children. Capt Proctor says the promotion does not require a move from Grantsville, but does involve a lot of travel and administrative work. Replacing Capt. Proctors command is Sgt. Roy Mackay who has been promoted to lieutenant over Tooele County section eight. Lt. Mackay, 43, comes from Salt Lake County section four of the Utah Highway Patrol. LL Mackay has held a myriad of positions with the patrol for the past 16 years. He says his wife, Hortencla, and four children will move to Tooele In June after school Is - Property values have been emotional distress and adverse health effects. - The toxic contaminants in surface and ground waters constitutes a nuisance in Tooele County. The deposit of the tailings and chemicals is an activity that involves a high degree of risk of harm. . - Myron Bateman, Tooele County Environmental Health Supervisor, erects a health hazard warning sign at Blackhawk Resins near the pit where two youths were chemically burned April 27. A multi-millio- n dollar class action suit has been filed against the property and business owners responsible for the pit. (Photo by David Bern) the fact that it would be impractical to file separate suits. According to the suit, laboratory and mine wastes were dumped on the plant site and no records were kept to indicate what the wastes were The Bauer facility was also used for producing high-tecadhesives in about 1960, the suit claims. "Coal dust was treated with benzene and tolene to extract resins, h and the residue from this process was dumped into diked areas above ground, it says. t The complaint says that this resi- due ignites spontaneously each spring and smokes throughout the The matter 'generated is" then "transmitted through the air across the Tooele Army Depot into the city of Tooele and Stockton, . Grantsville City and Tooele County on a regular basis each ' spring and summer, according to the complaint. The plaintiffs allege that military oxygen generator canisters piled on a hill north of the tailings are rust- ing and contain unknown chemicals and were obtained by the dants" Id recover their metal content. "Because Bauer was established on a very porous Lake Bonneville deposit, most surface waters trate the ground rapidly, accord- defen-summe- out Taking over the sergeant posi- -' tlon in Wendover Is Sgt. Brent Shelby from Utah County. Sgt. Shelby replaces Sgt. Scott Mann who has been transferred to Salt Lake County. Sgt Mann wilt fill Lt. Mackay's position at section four. Sgt. Shelby, 31, has spent 10 years In law enforcement work. Seven of those years has been with with the highway patrol as a trooper. Sgt. Shelby, wife Lisa and two daughters will move from Spring-vlit- e to Wendover. by David Bern The Tooele County Commission approved a new support services agreement for Tooele Valley Hospital Tuesday. The agreement deletes a hospital administrator and comptroller provided by contract between Holy Cross Hospital and the county. Holy Cross Hospital under the new agreement will now only provide support services including: central purchasing of supplies, human resources support, strategic planning, engineering and laundry services. The agreement also includes educational program assistance, pharmacy technical assistance, emergency supply support, central processing and materials manage- ment. Compensation for Holy Crosss support services during the agree- ments term is $8,333.00 per month. Holy Crosss contract with the county ends Sept. 30, 1985. In other business, the commission approved a proposed subdivision that will be located at the intersection of Bates Canyon and Droubay roads. Called Rocky Top Subdivision, the commissions d now r. by exercise of reasonable care. - Defendants were negligent in their actions of contaminating the air, ground and water and intentionally caused the contamination. - The creation and deposit of the toxic tailings and chemicals and failure to provide safeguards to residents and businesses in close proximity "are outrageous and intolerable actions ... The contaminated chemicals have been transmited by air and have drifted onto property of the plaintiffs. permits road and improvement construction. Home construction was said to begin after value of properties was assessed. The commission also approved a motion to amend the organization and operation of the Tooele County Fair Board. That amendment simply consolidates all prior motions and amendments for the fair board. The approval now increases the fair board from nine to 13 members. Appointments to the board will be made by the county commission. After signing a new agreement with Tooele city for a prisoner work release program that pays $6.33 per hour for the supervisor, the commission approved an amendment agreement with Grantsville City involving injured prisoners. The agreement includes any medical expenses incurred by the county for a Grantsville City prisoner must be paid by the city if the prisoner is indigent. The agreement also says the county will contact Grantsville City in the event medical services are needed for a city prisoner. Tooele Valley Railway Historical Register Lists Foreman s House The section foreman house of the Tooele Valley Railroad has been listed on Utah Historical Register. The four bedroom home, located on Broadway and Vine in Tooele, was built in 1909 and is part of the Tooele Museum. Valley John Henry Warner was the first section foreman of the Tooele Valley Railway and first occupant of the home. Mr. and Mrs. Warner had 10 children, and nine of them lived in the large, white house. According to Grant Warner, one of the children, his father was working as section foreman for Union Pacific from Stockton to Lake Point prior to his stint at Tooele Valley. Mr. Warner said that his father sold his house and quit his job at UP in anticipation of going on an LDS mission. Hie mission call was cancelled and John Warner decided to take a southbound train to Provo In search of employment in Utah Valley. However, while at the Stockton train depot he received a call from C. R. McBride asking him to work for Tooele Valley Railway as section foreman. Grant Warner recalls that there was a coal stove in the kitchen, one In the middle room downstairs and another one upstairs. While the Warner home Tropical moisture from the Pacific will converge with a major upper air trough by to- night, says Mr. Hatch. That process will net an increase in thun- derstorm activity by Friday. Strong south winds will persist tonight, shifting to the north- west by Friday. Mr. Hatch adds the weekends weather forecast looks basically dry, with a chance of increasing clouds on Sunday and rain by Monday. Temperatures over the three-da- y period will stay near normal with lows in the 40s and highs 60s to near 70's during the day. Chamber To Present Awards Outstanding military and civilian awards of Tooele Army Depot and Dugway Proving Ground will be given Wednesday by the Tooele County Chamber of Commerce. The chamber will announce the awards at it smonthly membership dinner meeting which will be held at TAD Community Club Wednesdasy at 7:30 p.m. Reservations for the dinner and meet should be made before 3 p.m. Monday at The American Red Cross will hold a blood drive at Tooele Valley Hospital on May 17 from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. The blood drive is part of National Hospital Week which runs from May 12 to May 18. Grant Warner recalls one of his Those who are Interested in giving "the juice of life are asked to please call the hospital to get on a list for at the Red Cross. This is the first time the Red Cross has held a blood drive at Tooele Valley Hospital. crew of men shoveled snow into the tender to melt into water which made steam for the engine, since there was no other source of water. He did not return home Austrian descent. However, In the winter about 43 men were needed to help keep the tracks clear of snow, especially the section be and contact lens wearers. The past few days of heavy south winds will transform into thundershowers and cooler air by Friday, says weatherforecas-te- r Steve Hatch. Red Cross Sets Blood Drive fathers experiences that almost kept him away from celebrating Christmas Day with the family: On Dec. 21, 1916 John Henry went to help rescue the train which was caught in deep snow enroute to the smelter. He and a Vincent Cooper was viceforeman under Mr. Johnson and reports that they usually had eight or 10 men working for them, mostly men of Italian or Relief is in sight for allergy sufferers 882-069- had the comfort of electricity, there was no bathroom. The privie was located outside next to the coal shed at the west end of the house. until noon on Christmas Day. In 193 1 Mr. Warner sustained a head injury and was forced to give up his section foreman position. Ills family moved out of the home in 1932. Mr. Thomas (first name unknown) was section foreman for a short time. He was followed by Don Johnson, previously an engineer at the smelter, who moved into the home. Wind Expected To Ease Up The defendants could and should have eliminated the harm County OKs Hospital Service Pact duced major command changes for The command Pollution of ground water lowered substantially. - Plaintiffs have suffered severe 533-836- County." The plaintiffs claim that the defendants dispersed lead, Students and parents may submit nominations to principals for teachers they believe achieve superior performance in the classroom. Nominations will then be submitted to a committee of noneducators who will award between $350 and $1000 for the top teachers in the district. The local school district has about $50,000 allocated for superior teachers which is part of the state funded career ladder program. The awards will be based on parent and student evaluations, test results, administrative evaluations, and commendations. The awards will be made at the July 2 school board meeting. which flows through Tooele and Grantsville and to the Great Sait Lake. complaint. Rick Hall, attorney representing 649-458- schools close Wednesday, reminds Superintendent Walden O. Gurney. boring mountains. - Toxic mine tailings and other toxic chemicals have been trans- ported by air to Tooele Army Depot, Tooele and Grantsville. - Tooele County water supply has been contaminated by toxic mine tailings and other toxic chemicals. The suit seeks $40 million against each defendant for the seven causes of action listed in the tacted at Nominations for superior teachers in Tooele County precipitation infiltration, seepage from the numerous mines, and subsurface flow of water from neigh- tMtOWnMOIIkM Salt Lake County. the plaintiffs, emphasized Forty-eig- Top Teacher Deadline Draws Near include: - Major sources of recharge to the ground water reservoir include wj dants in the suit. Plaintiffs are Tooele County residents Verl Johnson, Caspar Borgogno, Mildred J. Conway and DAure Hall, a Tooele Army Depot employee residing in Number Hit Wit soilt ' contaminat- Cents Twenty-fiv- e jkwv J trict Court this week, alleges that owners of the plant located five miles south of Tooele . , Cost; 882-169- 7 Prerequisites for donating The old Tooele Valley Railway section foreman's house, located at Broadway and Vine, has been listed with the Utah Historical Register. from the 1909 period. tween Warner and 2nd West "We would appreciate any conwhere drifts piled high. tributions In furnishings or any Following the retirement of Mr. Johnson, the Coopers moved help in cleaning or painting, Mrs. Grimm says. "We are also into the home until 1967 when anxious to have any history or Ross and Mary Nelson became stories pertaining to the railroad the occupants. Mrs. Nelson from 1909. worked especially hard carpeting Members of the board include: and decorating the home before Claude Maxine Grimm, moving out In 1979. Marion Bevan, Maxine Grimm of the Tooele Atkin, Jack Smith, Valley Museum advisory board, reand Bill anxious to is Orrln Miller, the says group store the house with furnishings Edwards, 882-166- 882-140- 884-377- 882-380- 882-234- 682-328- blood include good health, over 17 years of age (17 year olds must have Red Cross parental consent form), last donation 56 days ago, weight at least 110 pounds, eaten within three to four hours of donating and blood pressure is normsl or controlled. In This Issua T.V. Weekly |