Vernal Express | 2004-11-03 | Page 2

A2 Vernal Express Wednesday, November 3, 2004 Cross in Grand County jail Rex Cross of Roosevelt is currently in the Grand County jail facing three charges charg-es of vehicular homicide. Cross was involved in a head-on head-on collision with a tar driven by Kathleen Parry of Moab Oct. 3. Cross allegedly crossed the center line, killing Kathleen Parry and her parents, Olive and James Parry. Six-year-old Emma Parry, daughter of Kathleen, survived and is being cared for by family members. Cross was taken to Grand Junction where he was hospi Regional Council supports USU building The Uintah Basin Regional Council has gone on record a number of times as supportive support-ive of the USUUBATC education educa-tion building in Vernal. As the legislative session is coming up, the Council is once again expressing strong support for the proposed education facility. Members of the council feel the proposal is considerably stronger this year as the Uintah County Commission has agreed to provide 20 percent of the cost of the building, or $2.6 million mil-lion of the projected $13 million. mil-lion. With the school district providing the acreage for the construction, the proposal is a strong partnership between the UBATC, USU, Uintah School District and Uintah County. The Uintah Basin high schools continue to set the standard for participation rates in college classes. Having the building located adjacent adja-cent to Uintah High School would increase the number and variety of classes offered to students. More students could take advantage of college col-lege courses. Many students are able to graduate from Reward offered in torture of family pet Siamae, a part Siamese male cat, is a much loved family member in the home of Trudy and Gary Hurley of Roosevelt. He is a friendly animal that has never shown fear of humans. On Oct. 9. Siamae suffered suf-fered the torture of being burned alive, an experience that has changed his life and has spurred the Hurley family fam-ily to offer a reward of $1,000 for information concerning what was done to their pet. Duchesne County Animal Welfare Group (I)AWG) spokesperson spokes-person Honie Bird said Siamae has been treated by Dr. Nelson Duncan of Uinta Veterinary Services. Duncan has used antibiotics, a special diet and plenty of pain medication in W VERNAL Express (ISSN 0892-1091) Published every Wednesday for $24 per year in the shopping area and $36 per year out of the shopping area within the state and $39 per year out of state within the USA by the Vernal Express Publishing Company, 54 North Vernal Avenue, Vernal, Utah 84078. Periodicals postage paid at Vernal, Utah 84078. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to VERNAL EXPRESS, P.O. Box 1000, Vernal Utah 84078. Steven R. Wallis Editor and Publisher Maureen Spencer Feature Writer Virginia Harrington Feature Writer Patty John Proofreader Kitta Dory Ad Layout Rock Mikulecky .'. Ad Layout Michael Bjornson Ph.D Sports Writer Jacque Hobbs Advertising Lynne Murray Advertising Terri Black Circulation & Classified Ads Jody Hadden Obituaries & Legals Phone [phone] FAX: [phone] Website: www.vernal.com e-mail: editorvernal.com DEADLINES News Monday 12 noon Display Advertising Monday 2 p.m. ClassifiedAdvertising Monday 2 p.m. Public Not ices Monday 2 p.m. talized for injuries he received in the collision. Upon his release from the hospital. Cross was extradited from Colorado to the Duchesne County Jail. From there he was moved to the facility in Grand County. Cross is expected to appear in court sometime this week for possible indictment on numerous charges, including includ-ing driving under the influence influ-ence of alcohol. He has five prior DUI convictions. Bail for Cross has been set at $500,000. area high schools with a year or more of college credit. Council members also see a big surge in oil and gas activity. activ-ity. Figures from Eastern Region Economist Michael Hanni indicate that employment employ-ment in the oil and gas sector has gone from 1017 in Jan. of 2000 to 1786 in June of 2004. Through July of 2004, the Utah Division of Oil, Gas and Mining issued 543 oil well permits statewide, an increase of 21 percent over last year. Of the permits issued, fully 75 percent were sites in Uintah County. This growth should have a significant positive impact on tax revenues. Recently, the UBATC started a Petroleum Technology course, which the school sees as a first step towards responding to the training needs of the energy industry. The UBATC would like to expand its CDL programs, pro-grams, welding, instrumentation, instrumen-tation, gauging, and become a regional energy center for training and skills instruction. The proposed Vernal facility facil-ity is a critical part of this goal. treating the cat. Bird said Siamae's appearance has been permanently altered by the torture tor-ture but he is healing and has been allowed to return home. What actually happened to Siamae is still unclear. Duchesne County Animal Control personnel think the burning might have been an accident. There is a possibility possibil-ity that the cat was hiding in piles of leaves that were being set afire by city cleanup crews. The Hurleys don't agree with this theory and the Roosevelt police suspect foul play. A school group held a BBQ event in, Constitution Park, very close to the Hurley home, the same day Siamae was burned. Since Siamae is a friendly cat, it is highly likely that he went over to check out the good smells and to get a rub on his cheek. The suspicion is that one or more members of the school group picked Siamae up and tossed him into the BBQ pit. Anyone with information informa-tion concerning this incident inci-dent is asked to call the Duchesne County Central Dispatch at 435-722-4558. gasifB Industries County cleainyp contract Mi i ) A junk vehicle is placed into the compacting bin of the C0LMAR at Basin Industries, where it will be crushed, shredded and recycled. By Virginia Harrington Express Writer Scott Bingham, president presi-dent of Basin Industries, has contracted with Duchesne County to assist in a county wide cleanup effort. Basin Industries is a metal recycling business located in Naples. The Duchesne County Commission decided the best way to get unsightly junk removed from the area would be to recycle the materials materi-als rather than to have it all hauled into the landfills. They also decided the best way to accomplish the task would be by contract with a recycling company for removal of dilapidated dilapi-dated trailers and through a contest for county residents that makes it easier for them to get rid of junk vehicles. The Basin Industries' contract con-tract calls for the removal of 18 rundown mobile homes at the rate of $590 per trailer. Three of the trailers are in Roosevelt, three in Duchesne and nine in Fruitland. In addition addi-tion to the cash received, the company has salvage rights to recycle all the metal in the structures. Bingham is UBAG taking appointments for HEAT program The Uintah Basin Association of Governments began accepting accept-ing phone calls to make appointments appoint-ments for the HEAT program. Eligible clients will receive a one time payment to help with their winter home heating costs. Applicants will need to have identification, Social Security cards for everyone in the household, a copy of their most recent utility bills, proof of all income received by everyone in the household and proof of medical bills paid in the prior month. This includes receipts for prescriptions and over the counter medicines. The Roosevelt HEAT office is located at 330 E. 100 S. and the phone number is 722-5218. The Vernal HEAT office is at 1625 W. Highway 40, Dina Plaza and the phone number is 781-2021. Storage tanks allowed to burn Two oil storage tanks west of Rangely ignited Wednesday sending a large plume of smoke in the air on the west end of the county. As of press time Wednesday, it was unknown as to what started the fire. The two 250-barrel 250-barrel storage tanks were about half full each when the fire started. There are no injuries inju-ries reported and no structures struc-tures in danger so the fire is being allowed to burn out. The tanks are located inside the Colorado border on Bureau of Land Management land near Banta Ridge. The tanks are owned by Pioneer Oil and Gas. (Evergreen Resources Inc. became a subsidiary of Pioneers after a merger in September.) BLM official Marty O'Mara said they hope to have a team in by Friday to begin an internal investigation. responsible for hauling materials mate-rials that cannot be recycled to the landfill but Duchesne County pays the landfill fee. Bingham and his crew have already removed three of the trailers and will have the rest removed by the end of the year. Using heavy equipment, equip-ment, Bingham can demol- W 4 All i J i r''I ?T", .' k ' ! r 'mTf- " H J - I . JL . J . H - W"4 nmi ' ' ? " " j, ' .9,. , " r. ' - - - irr-' - - - . .- - -- - .-..... The massive appetite of the COLMAR shearbalerlogger acquired by Basin Industries in Naples is helping with a major cleanup project in Duchesne County. Health Department receives additional doses of flu vaccine Joseph B. Shaffer, Director Health Officer, TriCounty Health Department (TCHD) announced today that TriCounty Health Department received an additional 800 doses of vaccine. The department will continue to offer vaccine to the eight high-risk groups as established estab-lished by the Center for Disease Control on a first-come, first-serve first-serve basis in each of its facilities facili-ties during normal clinic hours. Additional clinics are scheduled sched-uled in Vernal on Thursday November 4, 2004 from 1:00 p.m. to 4:45 p.m. There will also be a clinic held at the Golden Age Center in Vernal on Friday, November 12, 2004 from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. At the Roosevelt facility, facil-ity, there will be a clinic on Wednesday, November 3, 2004 from 1:00 to 4:30 p.m. The Vernal and Roosevelt facilities of the department held Influenza Vaccination Clinics on Thursday, October 28, 2004. Rae Paulson, nursing nurs-ing coordinator at TCHD commented, com-mented, "People lined up early in the cold, dark morning to ensure that they received their vaccine. They were cooperative coopera-tive in following the high-risk guidelines that we used, and we felt that clinics were successful. suc-cessful. At this time, there is still some vaccine left that is available for children without with-out health insurance coverage, cover-age, and it will be given during dur-ing regular clinic hours on a first come, first serve basis." LAST WEEK'S WEATHER Date High Low Precipitation Temperature Temperature Monday, October 25 53 38 .10 Tuesday, October 26 53 31 .07 Wednesday, October 27 54 38 0 Thursday, October 28 50 41 .74 Friday, October 29 45 29 1.43 Saturday, October 30 50 29 0 Sunday, October 31 46 28 .06 Monday, November 1 44 24 .04 OUCtieSiie ish a trailer and separate the materials in three hours. Now that the rain has let up, he expects to remove the nine trailers from the Fruitland area in a two day period. Phyllis Jones, office manager man-ager for Basin Industries, said Duchesne County Development Administrator Mike Hyde decided to put a positive spin on yard cleanup for the county. Instead of sending letters threatening threat-ening legal action against families fami-lies with junk trailers (which the landfill refuses to take) and vehicles, the county created a contest. County residents are encouraged to call any one of five companies to remove a junk vehicle. For every vehicle removed the county adds $10 to the drawing prize, with a minimum of $1,000. One drawing draw-ing will be held for residents of incorporated towns and one for residents in unincorporated areas of Duchesne County. The drawings will be held Dec. 6. Jones said the contract In the meantime, Aventis Pasteur announced that it will produce an additional 2.6 million mil-lion doses above its current production plans, bringing anticipated output to 58 million doses. Damian Braga, President of Aventis stated that the additional addi-tional vaccine will be available in January, 2005. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) flu season sea-son can peak anywhere from December through March, but most often it peaks in February, and getting vaccinated vaccinat-ed in December, or even later, can be beneficial in most years. Meanwhile as other clinics vaccinate the public, the CDC has issued stringent guidelines, with as many as 100 million people expected to fall within this criteria including elderly persons over age 65, those with chronic medical conditions, babies between 6 and 23 months of age, pregnant women, and some health-care givers. Tommy Thompson, Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, reassures the public that the government will have enough flu vaccine (60 million doses expected) and anti-viral medications medica-tions (7 million doses expected) to inoculate or partially treat most people affected by the flu. Thompson also stated, "We do have the ability to deal with the coming flu season. We need to all of us take a deep breath." Additionally, public health officials are spreading the and the contest are helping to feed the new equipment Basin Industries acquired this year. "It's a hungry critter with a monstrous appetite," she said. The heavy duty equipment is a COLMAR shearbaler logger, imported from Italy. Scrap metal is placed into a huge bin to await compaction. compac-tion. A lid folds over and a rod compacts the material to one fourth its original size, or less, said Bingham. The material is pushed to the end of the bin where it can be baled or shredded. shred-ded. Shredding is done by a blade that puts 800 tons of pressure pres-sure on the compacted material, mate-rial, shredding it into easily managed piles of usuable scrap. Bingham said he is pleased to help with the cleanup project in Duchesne County. He said the old trailers are fire hazards that draw animals and drug activity. Recycling the materials materi-als gives new life to the metal while making Duchesne County better looking and safer. word toward millions of people who are younger and healthy to forego vaccine, especially during time of shortage, such as we are experiencing now. Furthermore, studies show that while the shot generally works well to jump-start your body's weakened defense's, it will not necessarily prevent pre-vent a person from experiencing experienc-ing some of the flu's symptoms symp-toms such as fever, coughing, runny nose, and body aches. In an effort to help prevent the spread of respiratory illness ill-ness like influenza, the following follow-ing steps are recommended: Avoid close contact with people who are sick and keep your distance from others when you are sick. Wash your hands often. Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when coughing or sneezing. It may prevent those around you from getting sick. Stay at home when you are sick. Use alternate greetings greet-ings rather than handshaking handshak-ing during the flu season. TriCounty Health Department Depart-ment will continue to work closely with the Utah Department of Health and the Center for Disease Control to procure more vaccine. Shaffer stated, "It is still too early to tell what the effects of this shortage will really be, and we are considering all of our options at this time, exploring every avenue open to us in an effort to provide the public with as much vaccine as possible." For more information on flu vaccine or prevention, please contact Toni Bolton at TriCounty Health Department, Toll Free at 1-866-275-0246, [phone] Vernal, [phone] [phone] Roosevelt, [phone] Duchesne, contact the health department through web site: www.tricountyhealth.com. For information about immu-nteation immu-nteation clinics for the State of Utah please call 1-800-275-0659 or go to the immunization website at www.immunize-utah.org.