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Show (marginal well industry Utah's production of oil and gas from low-volume wells in 1998 accounted for 189 jobs and $32 million mil-lion in economic impact, a new report shows. "Marginal Oil and Gas: Fuel for Economic Growth," compiled by the Interstate Oil and Gas Commission, shows that low-vol-ume--"stripper"--oil and gas wells contributed $9.3 billiorl to the U.S. economy last year despite a weak market for oil and natural gas. Nationwide, more than 18,000 stripper oil and gas wells were plugged, slashing total economic output by $309.2 million, reducing earnings by $41.2 million and eliminating elim-inating 1 ,780 jobs. The oil and gas industry alone lost $19.8 million of earnings and 777 jobs. Utah plugged or abandoned 64 oil and gas stripper wells which resulted result-ed in an economic output loss of $1.54 million. State property rights attorney to visit Vernal Utah's Property Rights Ombudsman, will be in Vernal on Friday, Oct. 22 to visit with local property owners about private property prop-erty rights issues. Craig M. Call, appointed the Property Rights Ombudsman in 1997, will hold a public discussion of property rights issues at the Vernal City Hall. 447 East Main Street, at 3 p.m. Landowners, real estate professionals, home builders and others may be interested in the discussion. Call's job is to advise property owners and local government on issues related to state and local actions that affect the value and use of private property. He can help property owners with condemnation condemna-tion actions, zoning and land use issues, unfair conditions placed on development approvals, and other government actions that may interfere inter-fere with constitutional property rights. "My job is toanswer questions and attempt to mediate disputes between property owners and government gov-ernment agencies, cities, counties and towns," Call said. "A property rights dispute could involve MEAT program to start Nov. 1 In November, the Uintah Basin Association of Governments will open its Home Energy Assistance Target (HEAT) program. This program pro-gram is a federally funded assistance assis-tance program designed to help eligible eli-gible low income people pay a portion por-tion of their winter home heating costs. The HEAT program will open Monday, Nov. I, for the elderly and disabled. The general public will be served beginning Monday, Nov. 15. HEAT offers a one time payment during the heating season. The amount that a household is eligible for is dependent on the type of fuel used, household size and income. Medical expenses paid in the month prior to application can be used as deduction. Any cost above the HEAT payment is the responsibility of the applicant () Uintah Basin's Orthodontic Smile Corner Quality Since 1975 J. EARL HURST, D.D.S., M.S., Inc. Orthodontic Specialist Diplomate of the American Board of Orthodontics Cutting Edge Technology New Super Elastic Wires for greater patient comfort and shorter treatment time Cosmetic Appliances , Laser Assisted Bonding Procedures Trust your smile to a Board Certified Orthodontist New Patients Welcome Children & Adults Complimentary Orthodontic Analysis Call today for a bright smile and self-esteem! Dr. Hurst's Smite Team 789-4669 333 W. 350 S. Vernal The report notes that 13,912 stripper strip-per oil wells were plugged and abandoned in the U.S. in 1998, down from 15.037 in 1997. The number of domestic stripper gas wells plugged and abandoned also dropped, from 4,733 in 1997 to 4,235 in 1998. In Utah, stripper oil wells accounted for 1,113,425 barrels of oil (bbls), while gas wells resulted in 4,373,542,000 cubic feet during the year. Stripper wells nationwide produced more than 316 million bbls and generated more than 1 trillion tril-lion cubic feet of natural gas in 1998. While the average daily production produc-tion of all U.S. stripper wells was only 2.07 bbls and 15,600 cubic feet per well, collectively these wells comprise an important hedge against rising reliance on foreign oil. Stripper wells represent about 27 whether the amount of compensation compensa-tion paid to acquire land for a road project is adequate, whether the conditions placed on a subdivision request are fair, or whether an ordinance ordi-nance goes too far in restricting property uses." Call is an attorney and former state representative. He served on the Provo City Council for one term before working as a real estate developer and leasing agent He also was in charge of land use permitting per-mitting for Flying J Travel Plazas nationwide. The 1997 Utah legislature created the position of private property ombudsman to assist landowners who have questions about property rights. Since such matters always involve a government entity, the job was created to help property owners deal with government actions without necessarily having to hire an attorney or go to court to resolve disputes. There is no charge for his services. Applicants need to have identification. identifi-cation. Social Security cards for everyone over the age of 18. a copy of their most recent utility bills, proof of income received in the prior month, including receipts for prescriptions and over the counter medicines. The local HEAT offices located in Vemal and Roosevelt will be accepting phone calls starting Monday, Oct. 25 to begin scheduling schedul-ing appointments. The Vemal HEAT office is in the basement of the Danny Long CPA building, 1625 W. Highway 40, room B2 in the Dina Plaza. The numbet is 781-2028. 781-2028. The Roosevelt HEAT office is located at 855 E. 200 N. The number num-ber is 722-3218. generates percent of the oil and 8 percent of the natural gas produced in the United States, excluding Alaska, Florida and federal off shore facilities, facili-ties, which have no stripper production. produc-tion. The United States is the only country that has significant stripper petroleum production. By extracting small amounts of gas and oil, stripper strip-per wells help conserve the nation's energy reserves by ensuring the maximum amount of the resource is recovered. Once a well is plugged, access to remaining reserves is often lost, because re-drilling a well is not cost-effective. In Utah, programs administered by the Division of Oil, Gas and Mining are in place to prolong production. pro-duction. "These initiatives include a program which monitors inactive wells to ensure they are maintained for future production," said John Baza, Associate Director for Oil and Gas. "We also review applica Law firm makes Roosevelt move The law firm of McKeachnie, Allred, McCleilan and Trotter, P.C. has moved to a new location for its Roosevelt office, 72 North 300 East (123-14). The new building in which the law firm's offices are located is owned by Roosevelt Law Office Building, LLC. In addition to the law firm. Republic Mortgage Company is housed in one suite in the new office building and it is anticipated that Farm Bureau Insurance will iu Last chance to round uph fo m Ivft during Zions Bank's Big v VV v Debt-Bustin' Loan Sale '$ HOME REFINANCE LOANS AS WITH AUTOMATIC PAYMENT Pay no fees, closing costs or points to get a Zions Bank Home Refinance Loan. Use it to payoff your mortgage earlier-saving you thousands of dollars in interest. t'mffwWnrvm Auv'.aa (Mr Um Imm. Knr1 r m.xtmmm VV Urn -nttW. H mmMy W.-.).- nmi tffUVtrr HA V WnA VAWMhr wml v W ta ffmr Z' Ki . w4t t klrr trn.. f1 Lm Aty't imrmr v n ymi M (Hr.wirf Visit your Mnir kmc $32 millon tions for 'work over' tax credits which provide operators an incentive incen-tive to increase or restore production, produc-tion, and we encourage enhanced, or secondary, recovery efforts to continue production in older fields." The IOGCC defines stripper oil and gas wells as those that produce less than 10 bbls of oil or 60,000 cubic feet of natural gas per day. The organization has documented the contribution of stripper wells for more than 50 years. The IOGCC represents the governors gover-nors of 30 states and promotes the conservation and efficient recovery of domestic oil and gas natural resources, while protecting health, safety and the environment. Seven states are associate members of the organization, including Utah. In recent years, five international affiliates affil-iates have been accepted into the group. soon relocate to another office suite in the building. In addition to the office space there is 990 square feet of basement storage w hich is available for rent. McKeachnie, Allred, McCleilan and Trotter and its predecessor McKeachnie and Allred, has maintained main-tained offices in Roosevelt for more than ten years and in Vernal for more than 27'years. LOW AS ZIONS nearest Zions Bank, or call Vt Vemal Express Wednesday October 20, 1999 7 LDS hospital studying depression and genes During the course of our lives, millions of Americans will experience experi-ence some form of clinical depression. depres-sion. While treatment options have improved over the past few years, the root cause of depression is still not clearly understood. Genetic researchers at LDS Hospital, though, have a hypothesis that is gaining support in the scientific scien-tific community. They believe that genetics may play a key role in determining why some individuals are more vulnerable to depression disorders than others who are seemingly seem-ingly immune to depression, and they are now looking for the culprit gene. The researchers are conducting a multi-year study of Utah families-one families-one of the largest and most extensive exten-sive studies in the nation-and are in need of participants who have three or more blood relatives who suffer from bipolar or unipolar depression and who are willing to complete a family health ques-tionnare ques-tionnare and mental-health survey. "Our goal is to find predisposing genes for common disorders," says Lisa Cannon-Albright, PhD, director direc-tor of LDS Hospital Genetic Research. "Our hope is that by identifying the predisposing genes and understanding them there w ill be greater opportunities in the future for early diagnosis and treatment treat-ment of depression and other diseases." dis-eases." The LDS Hospital study is currently cur-rently one of less than a handful of studies in the country that are looking look-ing at the genetic links of unipolar PERSONAL AS LOW LiliLlnlHJ APR WITH AUTOMATIC Get a Zions Bank personal loan at a low interest rate and consolidate all your credit card payments and other debt into one, easy monthly payment. tVwV m l if ywt ftiWiKiliNr Utm Irm. SIAV irrrmvi .iitmiMftr ftymm if MiW Ma ht BANK TeleLoan: 1-800-789-LOAN (5626). depression, which is much more common than bipolar depression. "Because unipolar depression in the more common form of depression, depres-sion, finding the genes that may be responsible for mis type of depression depres-sion will be harder, but the benefit will likely be greater since more people suffer from this form of depression," says Dr. Cannon-Albright Cannon-Albright Family members who 'should consider con-sider participation in the LDS Hospital study are those who have experienced five or more of the following fol-lowing symptoms nearly every day for at least two weeks: loss of pleasure; plea-sure; feelings of sadness or hopelessness; hope-lessness; changes in sleeping and eating patterns; irritability, anxious-ness, anxious-ness, or resUessness; inability to concentrate, recall or make decisions; deci-sions; fatigue or loss of energy; feelings of worthliness or relentless or excessive or recurrent thoughts of death or suicide. "Clinical depression is more than having a bad day or coping with a major loss. It's not a personal weakness or a character flaw. It's not something you can just snap out of," says Dr. Cannon-Albright. "Depression is a disease that requires medical intervention. We hope our research will make a difference dif-ference for future generations of Utahns who may be affected by depression." LOANS AS PAYMENT S mmUt riw'-- v' k Hi Hfrr JW .-fcvtm anwaar. (Mrr naw |