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Show PLAY BALL! ' 'A"U "r.game winning 'VVV'H-i'i'inU.i tar Hitv JENSEN WATER PROJECT Thu Fn 328 Weather by 4825 4929 sswfeA,!. AM'LN BkcK K rir rf.aity, inc. hi tin: ui'pcr uptvr 4ts J(K am! Umfc unikisin A Ik ?ik Larger pipeline adds capacity , for Jensen water users. no : j s---- wft. t j Your Hometown Newspaper 115thYean:i3 Vernal, Utah 84078 00 CENTS www.vernal.com Wednesday March 28f 2CQ3 si officii or raer mailboxes By Preston McComoe Uintah Basin News Service When a reporter called the Vernal post office on Thursday to ask about drop boxes overflowing over-flowing with unsecured mail, a supervisor said what happened Wednesday was "an isolated incident that we immediately corrected." But the incident the newspaper was checking into had happened two weeks earlier. . Overfilled curbside drop boxes at the'post office at 67 N. 800 W. in Vernal are not an uncommon occurrence according to a number num-ber of patrons, at least three of whom have contacted the media over the past year. "With the growth going on out there, maybe that box is too small," said U.S. Postal Service spokesman Ron Hubrich. "They certainly know about it and are keeping good track of it. ... I'll certainly talk to them out there, because we take that very seriously, seri-ously, obviously. I'll make sure someone checks it several times a day." Three weeks ago the newspaper newspa-per heard from former reporter Joni Crane, who said she went to deposit a letter at the trio of drive-thru style drop boxes, but while pushing it inside found a number of envelopes lodged in the mouth of the chute. She pulled out a handful and had a friend photograph them, then got out of her vehicle and spoke to a postal worker hosing down the parking lot. Hi TV n WDM By Kristin Baldwin Express Writer Methamphetamine abuse claims many victims, but the most innocent are the children and teenagers who are endangered endan-gered by the addictions of their parents. The beds where they sleep on and the surfaces where they eat are often drug infested and dangerously contaminated by meth's residue. "It's just like they're taking meth," said Darrin Brown, environmental en-vironmental health director of TriCounty Health. "It's exactly the same thing. So you have weight loss, nervous problems, won't sleep. Meth absorbs into their system and so they act just like a meth user does." . And the stories of children affected af-fected by meth use are chilling. When Vernal native April (not her real name) was 12 years old, her family was split up by a painful divorce. Knowing that her father was less strict than her mother, she did what most teenagers would do and chose to live with her father. She had no idea that her father was on meth and secretly making it in the home while she was at school. "The first thing I noticed was the smell in our home. It was like cat urine," April explained. "At first I didn't know what it was but liXIT RliALTY PROHiSSIONALS (435) 789-EX1T (3948) Crane claims the worker acknowledged ac-knowledged that he was a postal service employee, but when she asked if he should notify someone inside that the boxes needed to be emptied, he allegedly responded, "Whatever." Crane then spoke to five drivers driv-ers lined up behind her, warning them that all of the drop boxes were overflowing. She said she was told by three of the customers that they had seen the situation "many times" before. After learning of the problem, Postal Inspector Randy Tucket said he called Vernal and learned that acting postmaster Gary Bolton is attempting to get a much larger curbside drop box. "When that's installed it will eliminate the need to empty several times a day because it will hold more mail," Tucket said, adding that it often takes a long time to actually get the new boxes. "Right now, sometimes people will drop in things too large for the chute and the mail backs up. There's not a lot to do but keep an eye on it, or respond when customers say 'Hey, you need take care of it.' "The system's not perfect," Tucket added. "We rely a lot on the honesty of people, and that's why we have laws on books. We do what we can to prevent people from being able to steal mail. But if we think someone's been stealing mail we gather all the information we can, work closely with local police and try to catch SEE POST OFFICE on A2 I could tell the days he was cooking cook-ing because I couldn't sleep. It was like I was doing meth myself. I found myself wanting to focus on something totally random like doing my hair for five hours or cleaning the kitchen sink for an hour." On the days when her father did not cook, April had the strong sensation to take energy pills and energy drinks. She didn't understand that her body was craving a drug she'd never seen: methamphetamine. "On those days I couldn't feel the sensation of energy when I was awake and it was extremely depressing and difficult. Eventually, Eventu-ally, my urges couldn't be fulfilled by energy drinks and pills. That's when I was introduced to meth by a friend who bought from my father. That first time I tried, I already al-ready knew the feeling. It scared me so bad that I didn't try again for a while but I was filled with extreme emotions and a feeling of intense depression." April was addicted to meth before she even knew what it was. Though her father never abused the drug in front of her, she would often stumble across it sitting in the oven or cooling in the fridge; making her conviction convic-tion to avoid the drug she craved nearly impossible. SEEMETlTs !VICSonA3 1200 AYernal Post Office patron discovered mail lodged in the neck of many Vernal post office patrons say the situation is not unusual. Wksliiiigtoii delegates hear T By Mary Bernard Express Writer Visiting Washington, D.C., two weeks ago, Uintah County Commissioner Darlene Burns met with Sen. Orrin Hatch, Sen Bob Bennett and Rep. Jim Matheson. "You only have a few minutes to talk to the legislators," she said candidly, "because their schedules are so tight. The ones you really have to convince of the urgency for funding are the staffers." Once inside, Burns delivered a request for $8.8 million in assistance in federal appropriations appropria-tions for Uintah County projects to each of the lawmakers. The commissioner busily covered a 1 Vernal council approves highway banner proposal by Kevin Ashby Express Publisher Vernal City Council members approved a proposal last week for astructure to hangbanners spanning span-ning Main Street. The planning and financing of the project will be done by the local Rotary Club and its members. Randy Harding, Rotary president, presi-dent, presented the idea of constructing two structures on either side of Main Street near 700 West that will support a street-wide banner. He said the outcome would be similar to other banner systems in Heber and Logan and would follow the guidelines set by the Utah Department of Transportation. "Right now I'm just asking I 'nit U131255 SquaiTjlM Adjacent to Walking Park. I Bedroom, 2 bath, and 3 bedroom, 2.5 bath condos. Brand New! Available soon. sq. ft. to 1500 sq. ft. Check out these beautiful new condos! Prices starting at $ 1 98,500 per side! Call Jo Ann for details at 790-2729. Z H l tuLU variety of issues crucial to the county with each of the legislators. legisla-tors. West county water Burns informed officials on the progress of the M&S water storage facility, which is proposed for the Tridell area. Estimates are that the water facility will cost between $8 and $9 million mil-lion to build. To date, federal funding has brought the project through the design and engineering engineer-ing phase. It is now awaiting approval from the Utah Dam Safety Division to proceed with an expected start date in June. " This also involves a separate request for $4 million to construct con-struct the Whiterocks Delivery for the councils support to move forth with the planning," said Harding. "We wanted to find out if the council approved of such an idea for Vernal's Main Street." City Manager Ken Bassett explained to the council that the Utah Department of Transporta- tion will approve such systems, but any liability would be upon the city and not the state. Also, city employees would have to be responsible for putting up and taking down the banners as they have the equipment to do it safely. Randy explained that the banners could go from sidewalk to sidewalk. He explained that this is a shorter distance than the banner system in Naples where SEEOTl3AN"NERA2 lg5,MR5.P i Mm--" all three drop boxes in early March. ty request Canal," Burns said. "It will be the primary water source for the M&S Facility." Re-engineering the existing canal has been slowed by water shortages over the past couple of years. The current canal is partially open and engineers estimate that roughly 35 percent of the moisture is lost through evaporation and absorption. "Funding would develop a pipeline for the delivery system and repair the Merkley's Drop", the commissioner explained. The Drop is an antiquated diversion culvert that brings the water off the plateau dropping the water some 100 feet to the channel below. The hillside beneath be-neath the Merkely 's Drop system VI RNA1, HYC l!N;i Mi:r,HN(; March liooH 7:00 p.m. Randy Harding, president of the Vernal Rotary Club, describes for the Vernal City Council a proposal to move ahead with planning plan-ning an over-the-street banner structure for main street near 700 West. The council approved the proposal, which will follow UQOT guidelines. ! -I niuii Square Feet? According to an informal survey, is in poor condition. Failure of the system would undoubtedly cause millions of dollars in flood damage. Burns stressed that reconstruction of the Whiterocks Delivery Canal would protect agricultural lands and homes. Increased drug use The commissioner also spoke about the growing substance abuse problem in the Basin. Abuse has been attributed to the booming energy industry's itinerant workforce with few ties or familial relations in the area. Long hours and hard work on drilling rigs have contributed to the problem. "Federal funding hasjbeen . SEE WASHINGTON on A2 1 ! I" nit'" i52oi5:o.sr,..;lM.itt |