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Show Statehouse 'Report Money Assured for New Brk'p To Span San km Wear- Bluff BY C. SHARP Construction of a $30!),-COO $30!),-COO highway bridge across the San Juan River four miles above Bluff is assured as-sured next year, Gov. Calvin Cal-vin L. Bampton announced Oct. 2. At a conference with other state officials, Bampton directed the Highway Department to repair immediately (estimated (esti-mated cost $5,000) the swinging foot bridge across ac-ross the river which now is the only access for 700 Navajos to get to Bluff. Bay Behling, structural engineer, Highway Department, Depart-ment, said the swinging bridge now is tilted to a dangerous angle. "Already hazardous, this bridge could be a death trap as soon as ice and snow gather on the wooden wood-en floor," Bampton said. Arizona Approach Woikers will probably have to bring a back hoe and materials to the site of the tilted bridge pier by way of Arizona, Behling said. Bart of the river waters wa-ters are to be held back by the Navajo Dam during dur-ing the repair work," lie said. Money Tor tlie highway bridge is to be obtained as follows, the governor said : From the State Indian Affairs Commission, $1C0,-C00 $1C0,-C00 which is from royalty money accumulated from oil and gas produced in the Aneth Extension. From San Juan County Coun-ty ?53,C03. From the U. S. Bureau Bur-eau of Indian Affairs, (BIA) $200,000. Trip to Washington? "If the BIA money is not released sooner, I will go to Washington next Friday to see what I can do about getting it," he said. Behling said the vehicular vehicu-lar bridge would be located locat-ed near the site of the footbridge which was damaged da-maged by last month's floods. The new bridge also will rest upon pilings in the riverbed. A suspension suspen-sion bridge would be more expensive. A connection with U-47 will be built as part of the project, Bampton said. Grading will also be done on the south side to connect con-nect with a primitive Navajo Na-vajo road. Possible HUD Money Ward C. Holbrook, executive! ex-ecutive! idirector, Social Services Department, who attended the conference, said the Indian Affairs Commission has been hoping hop-ing to get matching money mon-ey for the vehicular bridge from the U. S. Housing and Urban Development Administration. Ranvpton announced Oct. 1 that the state may be able to restore its 10 per cent cut in welfare payments pay-ments effective that day by Feb. 1 if projections of tax collections prove accurate. ac-curate. He said restoration of the cut will be possible if tax collections continue to exceed estimates made for the Legislature last winter. win-ter. Sales tax collections for the new fiscal year were estimated at $96 million. "If they continue in the present pattern they will yield $100 million," he said. Income Tax Slower Income tax, however, is dropping below the estimate esti-mate of last January. If the present rate continues this tax will yield $60 million, rather than the $G2.5 million forecast. Public assistance pay ments, the governor said, exceeded in slate arid federal fe-deral funds the appropriation appropria-tion by $8'J0,000 in July and August. They will be Home less for September. Medical assistance payments pay-ments in July and Augu-t exceeded the appropriation by $883,000. Rampton hopes to accumulate ac-cumulate a surplus from the two per cent cutback in state expenditures since July 1. He will ask the 1071 Legislature to use this to cover the July-September July-September deficit. The surplus, he hopes to have from sales tax collections col-lections above the estimate, esti-mate, he hopes to have transferred to pay for restoring re-storing the public assistance assis-tance grants next F'eb. 1. Richard P. Lindsay, director dir-ector of the Family Services Ser-vices fWelfare) Division since April 1, 19G9, was apointed deputy executive director of the Social Ser vices Department Sept. 2'.l. Bampton anonanced that Bind. -ay would become executive ex-ecutive director succeeding succeed-ing Holbrook after the 1971 Legislature adjourns. The governor described Holbrook as -'a model public pub-lic seivant." Holbrook, 71, has been active in sta'r s affairs since be was elected elect-ed to the State House of Representatives in 193". A Democrat, he was appointed ap-pointed to the old Welfare Commission by former Gov. J. Bracken Lee. On Oct. 3 David L. Duncan, Dun-can, Ogden, chairman of the Board of Family Services, Ser-vices, Holbrook and the governor announced the appointment of Evan 1". Jones, a career worker with the division, as director dir-ector to succeed Lindsay. Jones then was serving as project director for a system approach to manpower man-power utilization and training within the division. |