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Show rWUSI Big brown caught Sea Page B12 Cl 51 -- 32 Single Copy 50 $ 77 wsmmi Wednesday, May 21, 2003 Vernal, Utah 84078 . 111th Year No. 21 22 Pages SUPPORT OUR TROOPS Express online: www.vemal.com PnWS-pODIrD- 'S plain) Firefighter safety to be priority By Maureen Spencer Express Writer the seven past years we have lost more firIn efighters than have been killed in the war in raq, Ashley National Forest Supervisor George Weldon observed at Tuesdays Chamber of Commerce meeting. We want everyone to come home every day. The loss of life has prompted the use of more caution, and a change of expectations of when the service will engage in fighting a fire. He sees the Mustang fire on the Ashley Forest as a , success-- no fatalities or serious injuries were sustained, no primary residences lost and the area has been reseeded. is Forest service personnel preparing for another intense fire season this summer. According to Weldon, the mountains are still very, very dry. He felt that the West is struggling with its firefighter safety record. In the 1990s 167 firefighters were lost. In 2003, 23 firefighters were killed while working. Weldon addressed five points of importance to the forest: fire preparation and fuels management, drought, the forest plan revision, offroad vehicular use and noxious weed control. Three areas of interest must be considered in resolving problems in the forest, Weldon said, local, regional and national. Considering the differences in opinion between the three interests, he sees potential problems in keeping everyone entirely happy. Fuel projects to reduce combustibles around campgrounds and communities are underway. We need to learn how to live with fire, Weldon observed. We need to get comfortable with it. We live in a fire dependent area and need to let nature help reduce natural fuels. Some fires will be allowed to bum as a natural management tool. He viewed recent moisture as accumulagood, but the five-yetion of drought vegetation has left the area in poor shape. Permits to graze are being reduced, officials said, reduced stating that abusing the land will make it extremely hard to rejuvenate the land.-Hwelcomes the public reporting areas of The Forest Service plan is under revision and public input is welcomed in order to balance future management of the lands. He sees the process as controversial, but insists public involvement is critical in understanding what the community wants. An existing plan is in place and Weldon doesnt expect all interests to agree on every proposal, but he wants to hear all perspectives. A case in point, is the interpretation of wilderness areas and usage. The Vernal Ranger District will be greatly reducing offroad vehicle use, Weldon announced, citing enormous increases in offroad demands that could not have been anticipated. Cross country vehicle use will be closed in the future to allow recovery of damaged lands, but motorized travel will still be possible by the use of better signs on routes, better maps, and an increase in enforcement. County Commission control of noxious weeds was praised by the forest manager. Noxious weeds cost the country $138 billion annu- ar n rescue attempt. The driver of the truck pumper truck which was involved in the Naples City Fire Department received a new A memorial to firemen will be placed on the side of the truck, said Naples Fire Chief Shane Slaugh. The truck saw was killed in its first action in the Special Olympic Torch Run Tuesday. emniaD e Heavy equipment is used to clean valves and close off the major waterline break at 4000 South. Brian Pewed, Louis Bristol and clay Montgomery maneuver the cleaning hose. Running water left ridges down the roadway. l COPY Boyd Workman, manager of Ashley Valley Water and Sewer Improvement District, said the eight-inc- h line had 90 pounds of pressure and it "ran wide open" until crews could cap valves after the break. Ashley Valley Water and Sewer serves the residential areas and were unaware of the actual placement of the existing line which was not where the workers save A-- V -- ' ? .. : , ttlhioaiisainiGfls wntilh) me w aji mairlU ativ . t Representative Jim Matheson said this week that a change he made in committee to the Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization legislation helps rural airports in Utah maintain critical funding at a time when the air travel industry is struggling. Matheson sits on the House Committee's Transportation Aviation subcommittee. The issue involves the Essential Air Service program, which authorizes federal support for air service in small communities and isolated areas. Matheson helped draft language that exempts small airports from coming up with a local 10 per cent match for the federal funding, if they are more than 170 ground miles away from a large or medium hub airport. According to Tom Warded, Vernal airport manager, this is a reduction in previous mileage allotments from 180, and will qualify Vernal's airport for the exemption. This will also qualify the airport in Cedar City for the same exemption. Warded feels that this change will save the local airport over $100,000 each year for the next two years. Vemal is currently in the proposals stage of establishing the air carrier for the Vemal airport for the The process next two years. involves various proposals, counterproposals, and U.S. Department of Transportation approval for the carrier to be chosen. At present, there is no direct service to Salt Lake City, and four of the five proposed carriers will include a Salt Lake City hub. Matheson says of the funding measure, Economic development in rural communities is often linked to the availability of regular air service. At a time when passenger numbers are down at airports everywhere, it makes no sense for us to raise costs for rural airports by adding a funding match. HOOs affiecttedl toy Millions of gallons of water Vemal Avenue at 4000 flooded South May 14, with nearly 100 homes affected by loss of water service. Several homes close to the break also had to clean up the muddy aftermath. Some homes were out of water for eight hours following the accidental waterline puncture by a backhoe involved in laying sewer lines in the area. tto over-grazin- g. See Forest on page A2 1 10-ma- 9-- 1. lb ire a lit anticipated, according to Workman. One homeowners yard located on the hill on the west side of the street caught the brunt of the running water, as it followed the land contour into a nearby ditch. A pasture owner at the bottom of the incline commented that this w as the best irrigation his land had had in years. - 1 Matheson says Utah is one of the states that receives substantial funding from the Essential Air Service program. Vemal receives about $1,102,967 through the Students receive it;. $750,000 By Virginia Harrington Express Writer ; -- L 1 Photo provided by UHP Graduating students at Uintah High School were awarded a combined total of more than $750,000 in scholarships for college during a ceremony held May 20. Nearly 300 scholarships were handed out, ranging from $300 up to $55,000 Several were full or partial tuition scholarships to Utah State University. Mrs. Local donors included Vonetta Searle and the late Woodey B. Searle, who gave 10 scholarships worth $1,000 each. Other local donors were Dr. Charles Jackson, St. James Catholic Church, C&H (John Distributing Harding Vemal Memorial Scholarship), Rotary Club, Uintah County Soil UBTA-UBEConservation District, Basin Clinic, Colorado Northwestern Community College, Zions Lions Club, Bank, Educational Talent Search, Uintah County 4H, Uintah Schools Foundation, Burger King, Harold Gardner and the Society of Petroleum Engineers. Other Utah donors were Marriott Corp., Upward Bound, Utah State Office of Education and Deseret News. In addition, several colleges and universities presented their own BYU, scholarships, including University of Utah, Southern Utah University Snow College College of Eastern Utah, Colorado School of Mines and numerous others from as far away as Southern Virginia University . Jennifer Shakespeare received a $10,000 scholarship to Southern Virginia University and the $55,000 National Ment Scholar Competition Winner scholarship to the University of Oklahoma. Russell Dowling received the Collester Memorial Local officers on alert in seatbelt crackdown Nearly 200 extra officer hours have been allocated the local Utah Highway Patrol, Uintah County Sheriffs Department and Vemal City Police in an effort to crack down on drivers and passengers not wearing required seatbelt restraints. The "zero tolerance" alert coincides with the heavy Memorial Day weekend traveling season and will extend from Monday. May 19, to Sunday, June 1. The overtime funding will be used in five hour shifts by the local Highway Patrol officers, according to Lieutenant Stan Bench. "People need to be thinking about what's important to them. They should always buckle their children." Uintah County Sheriffs officers will use saturated patrols, according to Sgt. Robert Roth. "We need to help drivers be aware of the difference seatbelts make in an accident," Roth said. City Police Sgt. Pat Eden echoed the strong message being issued by the three departments. No "warnings" will be issued for violators of the restraint laws. The U.S. of Department Transportation announced the two A2 weeks of additional officers which T, Wal-Ma- See Scholarships on page Seatbelts unquestionably saved the lives of Josh Reynolds and Sharlyn Collett, Uintah High School seniors during this recent crash. Collett lost control of the vehicle in slushy road conditions at the Soldier Creek turnoff. The eastbound car slid sideways, hit a big rock and flipped over. When the car stopped, the occupants were unhurt, hanging upside down in their seatbelts. The investigating officer said it was the worst accident he had seen where seatbelts had saved lives. rt, affects law enforcement officers from over 12,000 enforcement agencies across the United States. The message is simple. If you are not wearing a safety belt, you will be ticketed. Failure to buckle up contnbutes to more fatalities than any other single safety-relate- d traffic behavior. half of the passenger vehicle Nearly occupants killed in crashes last year weren't using seatbelts or secured in child safety seats. The goal of the safety belt campaign is to send the message that safety belts and car seals save lives. Law enforcement wants to make sure everyone is aware of this campaign and its consequences, and wants people to take it seriously. Officers will conduct the safety belt campaigns in a fair and open manner, with all agencies ensuring that no segment of the population is targeted unfairly in the enforcement effort. Law enforcement agencies urge all citizens to make buckling up their number one priority and to remember the slogan, "Buckle up America every trip, every time." 1 |