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Show H I' 2 Yernal Express fridoy, August 2, 1985 Ciitty loses coyrtt appeal 1? nSne-yeaf-oDdlpoDBcesuBti The U.S. Court of Appeals, then circuit, cir-cuit, ruled against Vernal City in a nine-year-old case where a Vernal City Ci-ty Police officer injured Lewis Billings Bill-ings during a misdemeanor arrest. The suit was brought against Vernal Ver-nal City and police chief, Jonathan Jones. The jury found for the plaintiff and awarded $23,500 in compensatory compen-satory damages. The case was appealed, but the appeal ap-peal upheld the prior court ruling. The case grew out of an illegal arrest ar-rest of Billings by Officer Baird, the appeal brief says. July 3, 1976 the officer entered Billings' Bill-ings' motorcycle store and wrote a ticket for disturbine the Deace. The officer ordered Mr. Billings to sign the citation. He refused and at that point the officer twisted Billings' arm around his back. According to the record, the officer threatened to "bust the thing clear fat m .... y tft? m if ii tj l iivlllib&zs LI ZL Mel Curtis Curtis gets lieutenant promotion Dct. Sgt. Mel Curtis, Vernal City Police, was promoted to lieutenant last week in an organizational change in the department. As lieutenant, Curtis will be in charge of the investigative division of the department. Curtis joined the department in 1377 after he was released from the U.S. Armv. He has served two years in the uniformed division and five years in the detective division. He has extensive training In crime scene management and is a certified poligraph test examiner. He has overseen the development of a city crime lab. "It has been everything I've wanted to do," Curtis said about his year with the police department. "You have your up and downs, but if you love it you don't get burned out," he said. "It Is a move in the right dine lion," Chief Itetrt T, Do nard said about the promotion, Vernal Express (USPS 6580-1000) Fk-'tVi tffjr 4-4f 0"4 h'df for $54 CI jets w o4 $23.03 f f W Ctr Si Uih V'al A, Vfpl, V- tHii $?' J 'o l-os'nj psitfl V. us n:?i hi :.. .. ..... rt,M-f t:St Sten l4-'s ts.v. .tA'wVl fitwt h'f C J'v- rsiM (f ..... . fsff Ce"j t jitjjj v ?l.Jjll a j- : f -f M . . . t i' I -IS- V frrrvwi l till V". 54 law Si tfe $4i (Id f ir "fc l" 1 A lf off." Billings signed the citation and the officer left the store. In 1977 the plantiff filed suit against Vernal City" and Jonathon Jones alleging that Vernal City acquisition in or approve of the reckless or grossly gross-ly negligent training and supervision of the officer. At the close of the trial, the district court denied defendants' motions for a directed verdict. The jury found for the plaintiff against both defendants and awarded com Mormon cricket spraying project proves effective The five-week aerial spray attack against Mormon crickets in northeastern nor-theastern Utah has been described as "very sucessful," according to Vernal Ver-nal District BLM officials. The project, pro-ject, which ended in mid-July, saw a total of 37,000 acres (nearly 55 square miles) sprayed. Of that, 25,000 acres was Federal land, 4,000 State land and 8,000 was private land. The project was directed by the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), an agency of the Department of Agriculture charged with plant and animal disease control. Cooperating in the project was the Uintah Basin Mosquito Abatement Service (UBMAS) and the Vernal District of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). According to an APHIS spokesman, "The kill ratio on projects of this type runs about 90 percent, however, we believe the ratio on these to be in the high nineties with a 100 percent kill in one area." In addition to the aerial spray conducted con-ducted by APHIS, the Uintah Basin Mosquito Abatement Service has done an excellent job of independent spraying, spray-ing, said BLM officials. Using three-quarter three-quarter ton trucks, with 200-gallon tanks, the abatement people have conducted con-ducted "search and destroy" missions on many areas not sprayed by APHIS. In all, the county sprayed 13,000 gallons of insecticide (mixed, not pure insecticide). Their independent efforts have probably killed billions of Mormon Mor-mon crickets and grasshoppers. One only has to visit the sprayed areas and see the dead crickets and grasshoppers grasshop-pers to know the county's efforts have Reagan rejects SFC award to coal plant The Reagan administration Tuesday Tues-day rejected further aid for the country's coun-try's largest synthetic fuels plant, possibly sounding the death knell for a mulii billiondollar program to wean the nation from its dependence on foreign oil. "Oil and natural gas prices simply have not proved high enough to make the project economical," Energy Secretary John llcrrington said in rejecting re-jecting a plan that would have provided pro-vided 1720 million in new government subsidies for the Great Plains coal gasification plant near Beulah, N.D. llerrington complained In a letter to the quasi government Synthetic Furl Corp which would have put up the new aid-that the five private natural gas pipeline companies sponsoring spon-soring the 12 1 billion project had refuMrd to inera.M tbrir exposure to ptmsible financial taws, The gavernmrftt bears etl the risk of lotr prim until the IPC's t::o million i niuu-.iiHf," he laid, "On balance, the tml of continuing to ipfra!e the plant tifinificantly feff ighi the brwfili undrr all biit highly ipetuMiv awumptions," Allcm ing the pfpjrct to be ahamJrtftfd no, rathrf Oian altpmptiiig u V-p it ahve br sonihrr ta yt ith fcVral prire fcur-porti ill lave the goverr.mrttl million, Iktf iftgton taii. The five ftaiaf al ts f!pr!in turn' f.ar,- M ft the pn'fti Ten to h e , Amrfksf Natural ftrmjftcs C , Tran.sra Km-rcy t. ?iidCe tV'tp. n4 VatiM light ir-sj Of p ha4 IbrtafrnH t abandon it if tw aif teal fwt terihcemir4 by Aug. I. V fctef gv tfcpartrhFTTl hai "t rt ttpajirl If. II I5S b":,m in It tUan. i rr?rr.$ fr tbe tft i r?! trt cetfirl ttii !? pensatory damages of $23,500 and attorneys' at-torneys' fee. The issue before the appeals court was the district court erred in not granting a directed verdict or judgment judg-ment for the defendants. "Our reading of the record leads us to conclude that the police chief's failure to train the officer was a ' grossly negligent and reckless policy," says the court ruling. - The appeals court supported the . district court iri its award. been very beneficial, said BLM officials. j According to Steve Romney, Entomologist En-tomologist with UCMAS, "There are two seasonal conditions which could really augment this year's spraying ef- ; fort. One would be a very cold, dry winter which would affect the Mormon cricket eggs, or two, an egg hatching season followed immediately by severe, intense freezing to kill the critters." Now that the Mormon cricket project pro-ject is terminated, APHIS personnel are involved in two other projects simultaneously. One is a statewide survey through county extension agents to determine heaviest grasshopper infestations, the second is a cooperative venture with Utah State University to determine the locations of three species of the black grass bug and four significant noxious weeds growing in Utah. The grasshopper and cricket survey is being undertaken in the hope that the Federal Government will again appropriate ap-propriate funds for eradication efforts ef-forts in 1986. To date, no funds are appropriated ap-propriated and some feel the chance that funds will be appropriated next year are nonexistant. The four noxious weeds being investigated in-vestigated are called Dyer Woad, Musk Thistle, Leafy Spurge and Spotted Spot-ted knapweed. Persons knowing of areas of significant infestations of any of these noxious weeds or the black grass bug should notify their local county agent or contact: Tom Crowe, APHIS; Federal Administration Building; 1745 West 1700 South; Salt Lake City, Ut 84405. will have to repay $332 million In tax breaks they have enjoyed for their half billion-dollar investment In the project. A senior Energy Department official, of-ficial, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the government will likely "mothball" the project if the private sponsors abandon it. "Under moderate price projections, projec-tions, the marginal cost of operating the plant exceeds its projected contract con-tract revenues by ITS million through 1387 and over $300 million through 1532," Harrington said. "Consumers teould be paying up to $100 million per year above market pricrs for the Great Plains ps," be Mid, citing that as another latter in hi decision to reject further aid for the projrtL Tbrir refinancing package have cuaranlprd the spomors a price ti $4 75 per l.ftO cubic frrl of iyfl. thctiC natural pi that the plaftt pr-duert pr-duert from North Dakota lignite. Award... CoiMinrd fo Mtg tompawtan tsmcf rn f"f q izUy tare. Mr. Martin's fwm lof g teiift b?f Qualifications and feiScf trf trim ttirndalirtftg tell! be sybmUc4 to Uvf rational Iot! rf the asri. ( Vernal I fldvciUm IFYOU WATER AND IT IT S A PLANT. IFYOU PULUT UP fN0 ITGROW5 DACK ITAWEEDy UHP troopers hope to reduce DU I accidents Driving under the influence (DUD, is an ongoing problem and Utah Highway Patrol troopers are out to reduce the number of fatal alcohol and drug related accidents in the three county area. Each year about 25,000 persons are killed in alcohol related accidents. An additional million persons survive the accidents but are injured or maimed. Alcohol is a contributing factor in over half of all fatal accidents. ac-cidents. Although DUI laws in Utah are stronger than in most states, drinking drink-ing and drugged drivers continue to pose a threat on area highways. In any given night in Utah one of every five drivers has been drinking. Under Utah State Statute the legal drinking limit is .08 percent. In addition to the death and injures caused by impaired drivers there is also property damage. Drinking drivers cost taxpayers thousands of dollars each year. Troopers in the Vernal district hope to reduce the number of fatal accidents by keeping Impaired drivers off tie road. As of Aug. 1 there had been four fatal accidents in the three county area and all four of Only $ for 104 news filled issues in your mail twice a week local news TV guide special features . lots of advertising Subscribe Wow5 r' JIHW tWM( Bt J(W (WSp (MSSw WSm flWWBi fiflMKP MHHp MMRji lRWri VHHH IHIHK feB"4l 4feHflM HMN( ftNUSS flBSMS Mall to: J I Vernal Express P.O. Hox 1010 Vernal, Utah 81078 I i i I Nam iv. I i i Address ' j i i 1 Phone. enclose $14 cash 9 DIES the accidents were alcohol related. In one case a four year girl was killed by a driver who has been charged with DUI. During a one week period between July 20-26 local troopers on the night shift made six arrests for DUI. Another phase of the officers program pro-gram to reduce DUIs is setting up roadblocks. The first roadblock was set up on U.S. Highway 40 July 19-20. During the 15 hour roadblock 17 people were arrested for alcohol related offenses including driving under the influence and illegal possession of alcohol by minors. Residents of the area can also aid officers in getting the impaired drivers off the road. Often times an impaired driver will travel too fast or slow and will change lanes frequenU ly. Other things to look out for are; failure to dim lights, driving with windows down in cold weather, and overshooting or disregarding traffic signals. After spotting an impaired driver, one should get a description, direction direc-tion of travel and location of the vehicle vehi-cle and a license number whenever possible. Read Ml Atoonatt your hometown in the Vernal 14 in Area and or $20 for one year or $23 and $37 for two years O check Visa cr MC I I S m ri .! . Meeting scheduled for forest resource review Ashley National Forest Supervisor, Duane Tucker, announced this week that the Ashley Forest Land and Resource Management Plan, commonly com-monly referred to as the Forest Plan, has been released for public review and comment. ; Copies of the plan and its accompa- ; nying Draft Environmental Impact ; Statement have been distributed to I agencies, organizations and in- s dividuals on the Ashley National i Forest mailing list. In addition, copies ; have been sent to local libraries for general public availability. Some copies are also available from local j Ranger Station offices and the Forest ; Headquarters in Vernal. Public meetings will be held in j August to answer questions and pro-vide pro-vide information to those people desir- ing to respond or comment on the draft ; plan. Meetings are scheduled as i follows: Vernal, August 6, 6-9 p.m. Ashton Energy Center, Manila, August 7, 3-5 ' p.m. Ranger Station, Rock Springs, : August 7, 7-9 p.m. Western Wyomng ' State College, Student Union Building ' (C-204), Duchesne, August 8, 3-6 p.m. i Ranger Station, Roosevelt, August 8, 7-9 p.m. Ranger Station. ; Supervisor Tucker noted that the ' public is invited to attend the meetings, ask questions, and then to develop and provide their comments and responses by October 25. express $20 out of Area |