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Show Memorial Golf Tournament draws pro, golfers Water balloon incident causes damage, injury A water balloon aupposadly thrown by ajuvenile from the back of a truck at a passing ear caused several injuries, damaged the car and almost caused what could have been a serious, possibly fatal accident, Saturday, May 28, between Altamont and Alton ah. According to Sergeant TYsvis Mitchell of the Ducheane County Sheriffs Office, the alleged incident occurred about 5 pm. on. Altonah road near Daatrups Hill, when a vehicle driven by Arda Ames, washesdingfor herhomein Altonah and was struck by at least one water balloon, allegedly thrown by a youth, from the back of the LaRose pickup. Each vehicle was traveling between 5 miles per hour in opposite directions, giving the balloon an impact speed of over 60-6- . 100 miles per hour. According to Mitchell, the windshield was shattered by the impact and a mass of glass and water stuck Ames in the face. She received slashes, cute and bruises, with several pieces of glass embedding themselves in her face, arms, chest and ayes. The glasses she had been wearing were found on the tray under the rear window, having apparently been knocked there by the impact Mitchell said Ames, who had ' been temporarily blinded by the glass, water and blood from her wounds, apparently "knew by instinct nr memory, when to turn into a relatives driveway after locking the brakes up and skidding several feet According to witnesses, it looked as if Ames had just perked the car normally in the drive, when turning in a few feet to either side of the wive, would have resulted in the ear hitting a cement retaining wall see IfAmeshadswerv&dlhaOther ' direction, the car would here most likely gone rolling down the steep hill, according to Mitchell. : Several other family mem-- , ben in Am car were also Mured, either by ilyingglsss or glass being embedded in them. Ames was taken by ambulance to Duchesne County Hospi-- ; tal for treatment and then taken ! byherfamilytoSaltLakeformore treatment. She received several stitches below one eye and there is the possibility of one eye being damsged. She will be seeingan eye specialist tofind out what has tobe f : Sergeant Mitchell said that the problem of water balloons being tossed at can has bam one that seems to come up consistently every year, but this is the wont incident so far, though there have already been two cases so far this yesr, of broken car windows in Altamont and Duchesne from ju-- . veniles tossing water balloons from one moving vehicle at another. 1 dont think they realize how dangerous what theyre doing is, he explained. He wanted to stress the fact that this teame or prank was very dangerous, as shown by this incident, and could have easily resulted in an accident, possibly a fatality. Arda herself, stated that it was a miracle" that she was Mile dime. to keep control ofthe car and turn it into the drive, considering that she couldnt see, and was in pain and shock from the impact. Mitchell aaid it was hard to believethatshehadbeenabletodo what she did, but that any other action could have been disastrous for her end her family. It was a close call, he stated. Arda hopes that telling her story snd by showing pictures of her injury end the damage to her car, that other juveniles will realize just how dangerous water balloons can be. Maybe it will make them think twice about doing something like that, she said. Charges are pending on the incident, which is still under investigation by the Sheriffs Office, according to Mitchell BRUISED BUT ALIVE Arda Ames is glad to be alive. O 75th Year No. 23 Wednesday, June 8, 1988 Roosevelt, Utah 16 Pages 50 Cents Governor visits; meets officials but that the surplus could run Governor Norman Bangerter had an informal meeting with local officials from the Uintah Basin GONE WITH THE WIND-F- or the Merrell family of LaPoint, 29 6:41 at Sunday, May pjn. will remain in their memories for awhile, because thats when a small tornado caught the comer of the secondary rooflhat was built over their trailers, and ripped it off, smashing their power pole, a shed, clothesline and even some of their strawberry plants.. .None of the family members were injured in the incident. of the trailer. They are gone with the roof, with the none of the other bulbs shattered, including the last one before the wire just ended, looking like it had been cut cleanly with a knife... The main power linehad been sheared clean just a few feet from the main line on the road and Moon Lake installed anew pole by the next day. According to the Merrells, 0 neighbors pitched in to help put a tarp over a damaged section of Freakish windstorm rips roof in Lapoint A freakish windstorm, possibly a small tornado, ripped over 40 fret of roofing off the trailer home of Glenn Morrell in Lapoint Sunday evening; May 29. ' According to Mrs. Susan Merrell, their kitchen clock stopped at 6:41 p.m. when a 40 foot long and 16 foot wide section of the secondary roof they had built over . their trailers slammed into their utility power pole and ripped it loose from the ground. Mrs. Merrell said, We had no real warning; there was just a rumbling noise, like someone shaking a big piece of sheet metal and as I looked out the kitchen window I saw the roof land in the backyard. One section of the roof was laid out on its back almost intact, while another smaller section was smashed to pieces. Insulation and debris was scattered over half an acre, northeast of the two trailers. A small utility shed was obliterated by roof piroes, but the majority of the items inside were virtually untouched according to 8usan. Her clothesline poles were also smashed as well as about a third of the strawberry plants and a plum tree theyd planted. The roof sections had apparently been firmly anchored to the units and weighed several hundred pounds each, yet Susan said they were flipped into the back yard as if they weighed nothing. One section of roof was lifted the trailers sliding up over exhailst pipes as if done by a crane. off Their cinder-bloc- k chimney was another matter however. Several blocks fell into the kitchen, missing two daughters, Julie age five and Debby age three by a few feet The girls were playing in the front room on the southwest corner of the trailer when the tornado struck. Mrs. Merrell expressed surprise and relief that the windstorm didnt shatter (1m windows the girls were playing by was hit by the and that e cinder blocks from the crumbled chimney. Several hundred pounds of blocks were scattered over the inner roof of the trailers, but only those partially in the home already fell through. Their fruit shed, which was directly in the path of the debris was untouched, as was their pet dog attached by a chain to it Several flocks of sheep on both sides of the house were also unhurt and apparently undisturbed as well by the storm. A neighbor was out irrigating a nearby field and saw what 1m described to the Merrells as whirling mass of air and dust, kind of like a dust devil, and he saw the roof ripped off and shredded. According to the National Weather Service, from the description and information they have received, it was most likely a spall tornado that probably didnt quite touch the ground and it just happened to graze" the corner of the Merrell home, lifting off one section of the roof and shredding the other. Even the Christmas no-on- 14-2- lights were basically untouched, except tor the section that was directly along the southwest side Continued on page 8 at the UBAVC on May 25 from about 2 to 3:30 p.m. and heard some of their concerns in several areas. Bangerter was in the Basin to attend a Republican County Convention in Duchesne later in the evening but came early to have a chance to talk with local officials about local problems. He also provided additional information to local media via the microwave facilities and link-u- p with KUED and the UBAVC May 26 which has been included in this article as well. On the question of dealings with the Ute Tribe and the jurisdiction issue, the governor was leased that the tribe and other asin residents were getting together and talking about mutual concerns and issues. In particular the positive moves that had been made on dealing with the CUP and other water issues was seen as very hopeful by the governor. As far as other jurisdictional issues, the governor offered information and assistance by members of his staff as needed mice the tribe starts putting its issues up on the table for dismission. The governor emphasised,, We will not move unilaterally on anything on the jurisdiction issues. He felt that talks were progressing and that he would wait and see how things were going. On the area of the state surplus, the governor said that firm figures would not be in until June, between 100-12- 0 million dollars. He felt that it should be returned to the taxpayers, as had been pre- viously promised and that a tax credit or rebate would probably be a better way to do it, rather than a refund. He said that there were real problems with the legality of allowing the citizens tochoose how the money should be returned. The surplus will amount to $75 million plus, in Income Taxes, (give or 5 take $10 million) and million in Sales Taxes. With the exception of about $3 million, which he could see being used to make up a like shortfall in the Weighted Pupil Unit, the rest should be returned to the people, he felt The governor felt that it was his job and the jobofthe legislators to make the decisions, based on the responsibility that the citizens had given them to deal with it He said that he is still looking into the question of federal deductibility on the issue but is supportive of returning the money by tax credit This credit would supposedly lower rates below those proposed by one of the tax initiatives that is set to be on the November ballot The governor is personally as he opposed to the feels that it will be harmful to the state, especially in state programs and even more in the area of edu$20-$2- roll-bac- k cation. It was also officially revealed at the meeting at the UBAVC that the governor did lend his support to the efforts to get the Impact Continued on page S June 28 Deadline Fruitland Water project is reaching bootstrap level a public meeting held in conjunction with the regular meeting of the Duchesne County At Commissioners on Tuesday, May 31 in Duchesne, intersted parties heard the latest decision of the commissioners concerning one groups drive to officially set up a Fruitland Water and Sewer Dis- trict to provide culinary water to Fruitland residents. At the meeting the issue was raised to the commissioners as to whether enough efforts had been made to notify all of property owners. It was pointed out that the notice of the meeting had been run in the local paper as required and over 400 mailings had been made to notify landowners of the situation and their rights. After considerable discussion the commissioners decided to extend the deadline to June 28 to allow more time for the group to research and do further mailings, so that every reasonable step ' wouldhave been taken to notify all landowners of their options. One of the issues at stake if a water district is formed, is that the district will have the ability to tax, even if they dont use it, according to Duchesne County Clerk Roger Marett. If a landowner doesnt want to be included in the district, (or be taxed as part of it), they must submit in writing; a protest to that effect, with a description of their property, including a lot number or name of subdivision, sector, township and range to help identify the property, by the next public meeting on the subject on June 28. Landowners can also verbally protest their inclusion at the meeting as well. Marett also said, that at the May 31 meeting, the group did present a petition with over 250 persons who do want the water district, while only six persons have protested, (either in writing or in person), to be excluded so far. He said of those requesting exclusion, most already had a good well and wouldnt need the hookup. In order to comply with the commissioners directive, organizers of the effort for the district will have to research property owners at tiie Recorders office and do additional mailings and be able to bring evidence of their efforts to the next meeting. According to Jim Farakis, who is a leading member of the steering committee behind the efforts to help get the district set up, the district, once set up will have the ability to tax, but that is not the first thing they are looking at Farakis said that the engineer that they are currently working with, Reed Johnson, has help set up 14 similar districts to the one the group is proposing for Fruitland and is very familiar with the ins and outs of getting grants and special funding. Were looking at least 50 of the funding coming from grants, Farakis said, with the balance comingfrom hookups, low interest or no interest loans from sources such as the state water board, UBAG and matching funds. The big hurdle to getting into any of those is first, officially becoming a water district, which we have to do before we can be seriously considered for any money. Assuming the group satisfies the concerns ofthe commissioners and there are no further problems that arise at the June 28 meeting; Farakis said that once "official the association will ...immediately begin to solicit grants... with the success in that area determining the next step. Farakis said that the association had initially looked seriously at the possibility of starting some preliminary work in the Fall of this year, but with the delay, it Contimicd on page 8 |