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Show 2 Vernal Express Wednesday, August 25, 1993 JACK-STRAWS byJackWallls Water uses A controversy was opened up in Salt Lake City recently re-cently when a Salt Lake Commissioner proposed requiring re-quiring home builders to landscape with drought-resistant plants and curb the use of Kentucky Blue grass. The Salt Lake City daily newspapers were quick to pick up the idea that, "There is nothing wrong with lush green lawns per se, but this community is located in the Great Basin, not Great Britain where nature waters lawns. Utahns must come to realize that they can't continue to pour two-thirds of their water supply on English-style landscaping and expect to have enough water to support sup-port growing populations. This is after all, the second-driest state in the nation." It is suggested that if homeowners would simply replace re-place half of their landscaping with drought-resistant plants and retain some lawn on the remainder, the amount of water saved would be enormous. Lawns not only use lots of water they also take lots of work mowing, fertilizing and keeping undesirable weeds out. Lawn clippings also present a problem of disposal. On the other hand, grassy lawns are very attractive, they control weeds and erosion. But one of the most important functions of a lawn is to control air pollution pollu-tion and loss of top-soil caused by wind. Lawns also have a cooling effect that helps make a home feel more pleasant during hot summer days. Utah water managers are faced with the problem of finishing the Central Utah Project. Under the new completion agreement the federal government is demanding de-manding that Utah pay for a larger share of the CUP work and that a plan be implemented to conserve water. wa-ter. Will the federal government continue to pay the lion's li-on's share for completing the CUP if it is convinced Utah is wasting its water resource? This is an especially espe-cially serious question in urban areas where the population popu-lation is increasing faster than water volume can be provided. But in rural areas lawn grasses don't take that much water and well-kept lawns sure look better than weed-patches and dusty flats. Rural areas also have canal systems and wells that can provide the necessary water source to maintain yards that take away the arid appearance of a desert state. Sprinkler irrigation has been widely accepted on many farms as a water conservation measure. Sprinklers can cover areas where flood irrigation can not reach and do the job with less water. Rural areas seem to be conserving its water sources. But maybe it's time for urban areas to change their water-use habits and use less water-demanding plants in their landscaping. Hopefully, we can conserve our water resource and still maintain a green appearance by landscaping with native plants and attractive lawns. r MY BROTHER DOMT LIKE SCHOOL STARTING-, HE'S HAD TO PRACTICE GOING TO BED EARLY FOR ONE WHOLE WEEK 1 PUBLIC FORUM LETTERS TO THE EDITOR . What is your opinion? The Express welcomes letters from its readers concerning any subject pertinent to the Uintah Basin. There are no restrictions re-strictions as to contents, if not libelous or vindictive vin-dictive and of reasonable length. Letters must be submitted exclusively to the Express and bear the writer's full name, signature, phone number and address. The name or name of those submitting letters must appear on all published letters. All letters are subject to condensation. con-densation. Letters express the opinion of the writer and are not necessarily the opinion of the Express Editor. Accident Dear Editor, , On the evening of July 12, 1 was in an accident on. Taylor Mountain near the Three Troughs area. I was helped by a young man who was up cutting wood. He helped get me to nearby camp and a man from that camp went for help. There was also a couple that came along right after we got to this camp. Mr. Evan Smith, an EMT (with a group of Scouts), came along and he monitored moni-tored me until the ambulance was able to get there. I received a broken neck and collar bone from the accident acci-dent and spent two weeks in the hospital in Salt Lake City. I have tried to find the names of the individuals indi-viduals that helped me that night I feel very thankful for their help and compassion and would very much like to thank them personally. If you were one of these people or know who they are please contact me at 536 West 500 South or call me at 789-7509. TAMMY TWITCHELL Vernal For current news and the best in advertising subscribe today mm VERNAL Expi (ISSN 0892-1091) Published eyery Wednesday for $17.50 per year in shopping area and $28 per year out of shopping area within state and $31 per year out of state within USA by the Vernal Express Publishing Company, 54 North Vernal Avenue, Vernal, Utah 84078. Second class postage paid at Vernal, Utah 84078. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to VERNAL EXPRESS. P.O. Box 1000, Vernal Utah 84078. JackR. Wallis Publisher Steven R. Wallis Editor Melanie Morrison Staff Writer Kathleen Irving Staff Writer Eric F. Pye Sports Writer Janet D. Wallis Advertising fvtarcia Henry Advertising Judy McCarley Circulation & Classified Ads Colleen Noble Legal Notices Phone 789-3511 - FAX 789-8690 Member of Utah Press Association and National ' Newspaper Association Area correspondent Tridell Loma McKee, 247-2350 Lapoint Marlene McClure, 247-2552 Whiterocks Virginia Ferguson, 353-4584 Manila Clara Robinson, 784-3436 Deadline News Monday 5 p.m. Display Advertising Tuesday 11 a.m. Classified Advertising Tuesday 11 a.m. I Bear Continued from page 1 "If it hadn't been for that bear we wouldn't have shifted our search area to where we found him," she said. "I am sure we would have found him without the bear, but it would have been much later." Searle was transported to Ashley Valley Medical Center where he was treated for his injuries. Sweep also found a downed aircraft air-craft on Dinosaur Monument last Filing Continued from page 1 Leonard Heeney. As in years past, to file for an office of-fice in Vernal City there needs to be party convention. During the convention con-vention there needs to be the election elec-tion of officers, the selection of a name for the party and the nomination nomina-tion of candidates. Conventions need to be held by Sept. 20, Bassett said. Convention and nominating forms can be obtained at the Vernal City Hall. In Naples City the council seats held by Bruce Cook and Susan Nebeker are up for re-election. Cook's is a four-year term, while Nebeker's is a two-year term, said Naples City Recorder Connie Mott. To file in Naples, a candidate needs to file a petition or declaration of candidacy with the city recorder. The be eligible for a municipal office, of-fice, a candidate must be 18 years old, a U.S. citizen, resident of the municipality 12 months immediately immediate-ly preceding the election and he or she must be a registered voter of the municipality. There is no primary election in either ei-ther municipality. The general election elec-tion will be Nov. 2. month. "Sweep is two for two in her searches, but you need to realize real-ize that search dogs are not 100 percent," said Ms. Pantbriand. "They are just a tool. A lot depends on the size of the search area and the management of the search." Uintah County has purchased a dog from Riverside, Calif, which will be used as a full-time search, drug and protection dog. The dog will be with Deputy Robert Roth at all times. Deputy Roth and the dog will undergo seven weeks of obedience obedi-ence training and seven weeks training at POST. Funding for the canine unit of the Uintah County Sheriff's Department has come from private donations. The cost of the program is $10,000. "We are only about $2,800 short of $10,000," said Sheriff Lloyd Meacham. Proposed grazing reform comment periods outlined The Department of the Interior announced an-nounced publication in the Federal Register of an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) on a sweeping grazing-reform proposal outlined by Secretary Bruce Babbitt on August 9. The publication of the ANPR opens a 30-day public comment period pe-riod during which individuals and groups may submit written comments com-ments on the grazing-reform proposal. pro-posal. Written comments on the ANPR or Secretary Babbitt's grazing-reform should be sent to the Bureau of Land Management, P.O. Box 65800, Washington, D.C. 20035-9998. Comments must be submitted in writing; any written comment postmarked after September 13, 1993, cannot be considered con-sidered in the development of the proposed rule. The Department of the Interior will also reopen a public "scoping" period that will run concurrently with the ANPR public comment period. pe-riod. From August 13 through September 13, individuals or groups may submit written comments on issues they believe should be analyzed ana-lyzed in a forthcoming Draft Environmental Impact Statement (Draft EIS) on range-management reform. The written comments known as.'.'scoping" comments because be-cause they deal with the scope of the. Draft EIS on range reform must be postmarked no later than September 13. Like the ANPR comments, com-ments, the scoping comments should be sent to : Bureau of Land Management, P.O. Box 65800, Washington, D.C. 20035-9998. (The original scoping period ran from July 8 to July 23.) The Department of the Interior expects ex-pects to publish draft grazing-reform regulations and an accompanying accompa-nying Draft EIS in December 1993. After publication of those documents docu-ments in the Federal Register, the public will have 60 days to submit written comments on the draft grazing graz-ing reform regulations and the accompanying ac-companying Draft EIS. The Bureau1 of Land Management will also hold meetings in the West to solicit responses re-sponses during the 60-day period. Car wash shines, road goes dust free by Steven Wallis Vernal Express Editor Last Saturday, 36 motorists drove away from the Vernal church of Christ with shiny clean cars. Some were simply amazed. As a service of love for the community, com-munity, the church's youth group conducted a car wash from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The best part about the car wash it was free. Donations were not expected and were not solicited. so-licited. "Some people who had their cars washed asked us 'Why would you do such a thing?'" said Evangelist Samuel Mathews. "To make your stay in Vernal a little lit-tle nicer," was the response. Because the event was not heavily advertised, only 36 people took advantage ad-vantage of it. The yoiith group plans to make the free car wash an annual event, so those who were left out this year can participate next year. Anyone who has been stranded in a desolate area knows the feeling. It is the same feeling one gets when you see a Highway Patrol car fill the entire rear view mirror and you are going 75 mph. That's when people peo-ple who are willing to help out are most appreciated especially on the road that earned the title "Uintah County's worst road." Countless are the number of truck and car tires the road to the Book Cliffs south of Ouray has punctured. punc-tured. Correction, this road does not just puncture a tire, it shreds them. Having lost two tires to the steel jaws of this road through the Book Cliffs, I was excited to hear that the county is doing some improvements OUR TOWN to the road. I ventured out to photograph photo-graph the improvements. Tuesday morning the road still looked like a dirt road, but something some-thing was missing. The dust bowl' that usually trails behind vehicles was mostly gone. There were no remains re-mains of big mud holes from the rains the week before. The improvements were appreciated appreci-ated by those traveling the road. Two travelers stopped while I was photographing the improvements. They thought I was broken down or needed some help. "It's not perfect, but it's a lot better bet-ter than what it was," one daily traveler of the road said. I am sure those that travel the road would like it to be black topped, but the improvements that have been made to date are a notable no-table upgrade. With annual maintenance mainte-nance it should stay that way and people can spend more time enjoying enjoy-ing the Book Cliffs rather than changing flats. THE VOICE OF BUSINESS ANOTHER FEDERAL DEBACLE? fry Dr. Richard L. Lesher, President US. Chamber of Commerce i - STORM CLOUDS, sunset and Red Fleet create a grand scene. WASHINGTON "What i, history teaches us," Georg WWilhelm Hegel wrote, "is i that menhavenever learned lanything from it" As most nations shift to greater reliance on the private sector, and even Russians ridicule the inefficiencies ineffi-ciencies of big government, the U.S. Congress is embarking upon a socialistic socialis-tic scheme to federalize student loan programs. At issue is an extraordinary initiative initia-tive to replace existing government-guaranteed government-guaranteed student loans administered by the private sector with a federally-managed federally-managed loan program. Under this plan, each college would make loans directly to its own students and be responsible for collecting repayment A new national na-tional corporation would be set up to handle loans to students attending schools which decline to participate in the program. It is a fact that student loan programs pro-grams backed by the federal government govern-ment have a high default rate. As of last autumn, according to the General Accounting Ac-counting Office, the government's student stu-dent loan program has guaranteed about $142 billion in loans, paid out $35 billion bil-lion in interest to lenders, and lost about $19 billion from people defaulting on their loans. That is a default rate of more than 13 percent, and $19 billion that should be available for new student loans, but is not But to advocate greater government involvement to solve this problem is the triumph of hope over experience. In deed, experience teaches us that government govern-ment involvement in programs like this invariably produces more waste; fraud and default What the student loan program pro-gram needs is less federal involvement, not more. For example, the ConSem credit-based credit-based educational loan program sponsored spon-sored by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Com-merce and University Support Services has provided more than $500 million in student loans with a default rate of just over one percent ConSem is an excellent excel-lent example of how the private sector can respond to a need such as this much more efficiently and cost effectively than the government can. Uncle Sam is simply ill-equipped to undertake this sort of enterprise. Bureaucrats Bu-reaucrats are notoriously irresponsible about handling the public's money. There is no accountability in the system, no direct connection between the efficient effi-cient management of student loans, including in-cluding collection, and the career prospects pros-pects of the government employees responsible re-sponsible for them. We know as surely as we know anything that when the federal government govern-ment begins making directstudentloans, they will become grants in the eyes of borrowers. There will be no incentive to repay and little effort to collect outstanding outstand-ing balances. Default rates will soar, meaning even less money available for new loans. The same people who gave us the savings and loan debacle are on the verge of doing it again. |