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Show CB UT -- PHESQ8T M-- 87 F Hiia inunMHj C UTAH 3U7 SLC, UT nghA xnsm&. Thursday ASSOCIATION PRESS W wed. Wednesd8y S 2UU 5UU5 84101 See page A4 Rather cloudy, flumes Patchy clouds sas jfcu.? Clouds and sun OB Gangs make resurgence page A12 Children in transition page B2 - miii Iiti . i r i4.i,,-.y-lirv (Stair EDeir fesfts Additional monitoring to begin rt Express Writer Express publisher dies Jack R. Wallis, editor and publisher of the Vemal Express, peacefully passed away on Thursday, Feb. 20, 2003, at his home in Vemal. He was bom March 21, 1928 in Vemal to William B. Wallis and Muriel Smart Wallis. He was the eldest of their four children; two sisters, Gloria and Carolyn and a younger brother, Budge. was His first job as a to water the flowers in the Vemal Express front window. Jack attended grade school and Uintah High School in Vemal and finished two years at Brigham Young University before being called on an LDS mission to the East Central States. After his mission, he continued his education at BYU where he met and married Janet Decker of Snowflake, Ariz. in the Mesa Arizona Temple, Sept. 8, 1951. He graduated in 1952 from Brigham Young University with a major in marketing, and advertising. The family moved to Vemal where Jack continued his career at the newspaper. He worked as the business manager, and in 1970 became the editor and publisher of the paper when his father retired. He held this position until his death. For over 30 years, he wrote a weekly column, Jack Straws, which was printed on the front or second page of the newspaper. Wallis was active in his community. He served as president of the Chamber of Commerce and was the first member of the Chamber to receive the Outstanding Public Service award twice. He was president of the Utah Press Association from 1971 to 1972. In 1982, the association honored him with the Master Editor and Publisher award, the highest award given by fellow publishers and editors in the weekly and daily press. Jack welcomed the computer age. As soon as it was financially possible at the Express, out went the linotypes and manual type setting and in came computers, an offset press and a new press building. Recently, he was responsible for expanding the newspaper press to printing capabiliprovide ties. He continued to work at the newspaper full time until three months before his death. Wallis was a devout member of die Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-da- y Saints. He sewed in a bishopric, as a Stake mission president, young mens leader, president of the High Priests quorum and just recently finished a ward mission with his wife as his companion. During the past three years, he has worked a weekly shift at the Vemal Utah LDS Temple until he became too ill to continue. He is survived by his wife, Janet Decker Wallis, five sons, Mark, Steven (Tamara), of Vemal; Neil (Kathleen) of San Diego Calif.; David (Kimberly) of Diamond Valley, Utah; Brian (Suzanne) of Harrisville, Utah; a daughter, of Butler) Cynthia (Barry Palmdale, Calif.; two sisters, Gloria . . Chronic wasting disease (L'wl)) has continued its inexorable march west through the Rockies with the most recent case identified in a buck mule deer that was harvested in October 2002 during the general season hunt. Following the discovery of the fatal disease in deer near Craig, Colo., early last year, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources (DWR) stepped up its monitoring efforts with nearly 1,500 brain samples collected from deer and elk in fall 2002. Northeastern Utah DWR Regional Manager Walt Donaldson said collecting the samples was a massive effort which would not have been possible without the support and cooperation of sportsmen. There is still a great deal of onDonaldson research, going the monitoring is explained, noting crucial to understanding the rates of infection. The animal which tested positive for CWD was harvested near the head waters of Little Brush Creek five miles approximately northnortheast of Red Fleet Dam, Donaldson said. Of the 350 brain stem samples, sent from the Diamond Mountain unit to the lab at Utah State University, only one was positive for the disease. Its til low infection rate," Donaldson said, although no one wants to see it, it is a low rate. As he stated in the Wildlife Regional Advisory Council on Monday, plans are currently underani0 way to sample between mals from the same general area in the next few weeks. This will allow officials to establish a picture of the rate of infection with an accuracy rate of about 95 percent, Donaldson explained. We have to assume there has been contact with other animals, he said, noting that the harvested animals would not be salvaged for human consumption because of the 75-10- physical condition of the deer at this time of year. This is a scientifically-base- d monitoring effort that most states initiate once this disease is detected, Donaldson added. State officials are also issuing guidelines for sportsmen to follow when handling deer or elk carcasses although there is no scientific evidence that CWD affects humans. (See sidebar.) CWD was not recognized until 1967 when some of the captive deer Colorado Division of at the Wildlifes research facilities in Fort Collins began to exhibit signs of extreme weight loss on a diet that sustained other deer. After several months, ' they appeared very emaciated, drank continuously, urinated often and spent the hulk of their lime standing listlessly in the corrals, heads down, ears drooping, saliva dripping from their mouths. Biologists recognized there was a severe problem with the animals but were stymied when blood samples revealed that kidney and liver functions were normal. In the 10 years following, the illness showed up in both the Colorado research pens as well as those in the Wyoming Game and Fish Departments Sybille facilities near Wheatland. It was not surprising that the disease appeared in both places: the cooperative work including exchanges of animals between the facilities, made this inevitable. Years went by as researchers examined a plethora of possible causes for the illness. Eventually, researchers were .able to rule' out stress andor diet, because mule deer were living in captivity throughout the West. But more importantly, why was this, virulent disease confined only to animals at these particular facilities? Following the death of 57 of 67 long-terstudy animals in the wildlife 1970's, biologists were no closer to an answer. They had come up with a name, chronic wasting disease, but no cause for the long, irreversible loss of weight that inevitably killed its victims. In 1978 Beth Williams, now employed by the Wyoming State uncovered VeterinaryLaboratory, R. COPY n nrtniw softowe the first clue in brain tissue samples taken from deceased animals. With the aid of a powerful microscope, M ilhams was able to discern minute holes in the contents of the nerve cells. The resulting sponge-lik- e appearance in the infected animals brains pointed to a similar pathology found in domestic sheep afflicted by a disease known as scrapie. The small group of diseases related to scrapie is known as spongiform encephalopathies. This particular illness, identified in the has affected sheep and goats in Europe and North America for hundreds of years. Scrapie had never been reported in other animals, including mid-I700- s, Express online: www.vernal.com disease fiw the shepherds caring for flocks, but the similarity between CWD and scrapie raised new questions. Though some of the symptoms differed between the two illnesses, the eventual death of affected animals and was a common denominator in the 1970's, the cause of the diseases was still uncertain. Three years after Williams made her initial discovery, the fatal illness was diagnosed in the wild big game d population when a elk was discovered in a in Then Colorado. 1986, also elk found to was Wyoming have the disease. A crucial hypothesis involving a similar disease in humans was evolving through the efforts of a CWD-affiictc- north-centr- al neurologist on the West Coast. After losing a patient to Creutzfeldt-Jako- h disease during his residency, the young physician dedicated his time to gleaning more information about the rare, but brutal and always fatal a After establishing ailment. research laboratory, studies began in earnest. Since then, Stanley Prusiner, a noted researcher at the University Francisco who of California-Sa- n was awarded a Nobel prize in 1997, has proven his theories that a protein could transform other proteins into its own image,' This theory has in been vital understanding for responsible pathogens Creutzfeldt-Jako- h in disease See Disease on page 2 m At Uintah Basin Christian Academy student, Hagen Simper, learns what meet. Hagen and tongue are doing fine now.... By Steven R. Wallis Express Editor full-col- See Publisher on page A7 wftluniiim Wednesday, February 26, 2003 Vernal, Utah 84078 111th Year No. 9 20 Pages By Nancy iilhi Single Copy 504 77 iEmmi Bostick-Ebbe- stray UHP vehicles now carry computer equipment. Patrol vehicles in the Uintah Basin region of the Utah Highway Patrol are now equipped with high-tec- h equipment. The onbaord laptop computers, in each vehicle, are loaded with sofware to facilitate reporting acciof accidents, incidents, dents reports, events and writing tickets or warnings. The computer is mounted in the vehicles between the driver and passengers seats. The computer is connected to a small inV jet printer mounted slightly behind the front seat. For patrol vehicles which will transport prisoners, the laptops and printers are mounted on the passengers side. The reports can be printed off at the end of the day and dropped off at the office, if the trooper is within 500 feet of the Uintah County Building in Vernal, he can wirelessly send his information to the Salt Lake City office which will preside a statistical report of all troopers activities. On the laptop, the trooper can view logs of when he came onto duty, signed off and how much time he spent at each incident. Ultimately, the new equipment should save time, keep the trooper on the road longer and reduce accidents. For instance, I w as parked along side a road completing an accident report when a lady driving by had a said blowout, Trooper Craig Young. I was able to help her with the flat tire and complete the report. The average traffic stop should be reduced to about 10 minutes because of the computers. In the happens when frost and tongue Uintah Basin Region, there are 10 troopers, 2 sergeants, and a lieutenant. All patrol vehicles are equipped with the computers. Guard unit begins training bivouac 8-d- ay Members of the Vemal unit of the National Guard are on an bivouac at Fort Lewis, Wash, this week as they continue preparing for deployment possibly overseas. The Vemal unit of the 1457 Engineer Combat Battalion of the National Guard received verbal alert of their deployment Feb. 4 and they left Vemal for Fort. Lewis and extensive training. Feb. 13. All the units equipment has been transported to Fort Lewis. The only person left at the Guard Armory is Sgt. Dave Henry, who is assigned to the Vemal unit but is from a different battalion which hasnt been activated. The unit was very proud of the community and the support it showed during the sendoff," said Sgt. Henry. They were talking about it for several weeks afterward. Henry said he is in the process of a compiling of list of volunteers w ho can he of assistance to families who have a father or mother who has been activated. Residents can volunteer their services by calling Sgt. Henry at 781-63or by calling Kim Civish at 781-176- 5. About 44 members of the Vemal unit went to Fort Lewis, They range in age from 19 to 52. I dont know where they are going to be deployed, said Sgt. Henry. I don't think they know either. Based on their training, they could be deployed in a desert area, he said. There is very little free time at Fort Lewis. When not on bivouac, the unit is up at 6 a m. They have a break for breakfast and lunch and an hour break for Jnner with training in between. After dinner the unit is involved in training until lights are out at 10 p.m. The unit was given anthrax and small pox immunizations. Several of the men became ill from the small pox shot, but it was nothing out of the ordinary, Sgt. Henry said. |