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Show Vernal Express Wednesday, October 17, 2001 3 Naples chief named to anti-terrorist task force Naples Police Chief Steven Guibord as recently named a member of the US, Department of Justice Anti-Tenorist Task Force in Utah. This task force was set up in conjunction con-junction with President Bush's newly created Homeland Security Agency and Governor Leavin's Homeland Defense and will be coordinated through the U.S. Attorney's office in Salt Lake City. This Task Force will be responsible responsi-ble for accessing areas of concern and possible terrorist targets throughout the state and we will be responding to incidents of terrorist attacks," Guibord said. The task has about 30 members made up from the U.S. Attorney's office. FBI. Utah DPS. Salt Lake City police and other law enforcement enforce-ment agencies. "I am proud to be part of this much needed team, and I will commit com-mit myself to the security and welfare wel-fare of the people of Utah and our nation," Guibord said. PUBLIC FORUM LETTERS TO THE EDITOR What is your opinion? The Express welcomes letters from its readers concerning any subject sub-ject pertinent to the Uintah Basin. There are no restrictions as to contents, if not libelous or vindictive and of reasonable length (two typewritten double spaced pages). Letters must be submitted exclusively to the Express and bear the writer's fuN name, signature, phone number and address. Letters for the sole purpose of expressing thanks to individuals or groups will not be printed in the forum. Letters may be mailed, faxed at 789-8690 or through e-mail at editor Over-nal.com. Over-nal.com. The name or names of those submitting letters must appear on aU published letters. AH letters are subject to condensation. conden-sation. Letters express the opinion opin-ion of the writer and are not necessarily nec-essarily the opinion of the Express Editor. r Letters... Continued from page 2 the former secretary to the former for-mer administrator. Having served in both the commission com-mission and the council form of county government, I strongly think that a very careful study should be made prior to changing from commission com-mission to council. I have observed that the proponents of changing forms of governments have been people (especially the press) that have never been directly involved in county government. I believe that elected officials who are voted in by the people should be doing the administration of the county government and not a hired administrator. HARVY W. MERRELL Moab Response Dear Editor, I would like to respond to Will Durant s letter of Oct 10, 2001 . I am very sure that Mr. Durant does indeed feel that "Uintah County commissioners have had nothing but contempt for his most deeply held values concerning public pub-lic lands." . Mr. Durant has very vocally and publicly for the last 18 years stated his positions against "extractive industries." That's Oil, Gas, and Mining for us uneducated folks who have lived here and made our living on the PUBLIC lands of our county for our entire lives! Mr. Durant has wanted to protect "his backyard" for sometime at the expense of those of us who drill and service the wells that provide heat for his home and gasoline for his car. He has a fine log house built from logs timbered by the logging industry and the electricity in bis house comes from power plants powered by coal produced by the mining industry. These industries provide over 70 percent of the property taxes collected col-lected in Uintah County and a majority of the high paying jobs available in Uintah County. I want to thank the government of Uintah County for protecting these vital industries and HI vote to keep the traditional form of governmenL RANDY HACKING iVema! ' , ' - v .;?' ; A Mayor Bill Kremin proclaims National Business Women's Week for Vernal City, and congratulated BPW President Kathy Mashbum for the work of her organization. BPW celebrates National Business Women's Week The local organization of Business and Professional Women will take part in the National Business Women's Week (NBWW) from Oct 15-19. Since its creation in 1928, the event has been sponsored by BPW for the purpose of recognizing and honoring the achievements of .working women throughout history. BPW's members call attention to local women entrepreneurs, facilitate facili-tate discussions on the needs of working women, share information about successful workplace policies and raise awareness of the resources available for women in the community. The concept of National Business Women's Week originated from Emma Dot Partridge, executive secretary of the National Federation of Business and Professional Women's Clubs from 1924-1927. The first annual observance of NBWW was held April 15-22, 1928 and National President Lena Madesin Phillips opened it with a nationally broadcast speech. She said that the purpose of the week K Lonad McGee . Charles Long Michael Oleson K H Robert Justin Ross Roberto Segura Sanchez Sheriff's Warrants Warrants of arrest from 8th District Court as of Monday, Oct 15, include the following individuals: Londa McGee Long, aka Londa Sue McGee, bom Aug. 29, 1975, is 7 - Rdel Nunez Valencia wanted on two warrants for $5,000 and $15,000. Charles Michael Oleson, bom April 18, 1963, is wanted on a no-bail warrant Robert Justin Ross, bom Nov. 15, 1977 is wanted on a $5,000 warrant Roberto Segura Sanchez, born Aug. 2, 1979, is wanted on a $50,000 warrant Fidel Nunez Valencia, born Jan. I, 1930, is wanted on a $20,000 warrant Person? with information about the location of these individuals should contact the Uintah County Sheriff's Department, 789-2511; Central Dispatch, 789-4222 or use the Secret Witness Line, 781-5400. was to focus public attention upon a better business woman for a better business world." From this early effort NBWW has grown to be a nationwide salute to all working women as well as a spotlight on BPW programs and objectives. Utah Governor Mike Leavitt has joined with other governors in giving giv-ing a public proclamation of the week. Vernal Mayor Bill Kremin has also shown his support of the group with a proclamation. The local BPW supports a scholarship schol-arship fund with scholarships awarded to local women. It also recognizes local "Women of the Year" and "Women of Achievement" annually, among its many other projects. BPW members mem-bers strive to keep women's business busi-ness issues, such as training and childcare, in the forefront and to promote the position of professional profession-al women within the business community com-munity and the community at large. BPW will meet Oct 18 at 6:30 p.m. Members are asked to call Kathy Mashbum, 789-4880, for information and reservations. School board committed to students By Matthew Ben Foley At the Oct 9 meeting, the Uintah School Board discussed a number of issues that very much affect the students of the Uintah School District The project ASPIRE was first on the agenda. Leonard Sullivan, director of curriculum, cur-riculum, informed the board of the objectives of this new program. ASPIRE stands for All Staff Pledge to Inspire, Respect and Educate and will be implemented at three schools: Todd Elementary, Lapoint Elementary and West Junior High serving specifically children who are members of the Northern Band of the Ute Tribe. "These youth are exposed to an overwhelming number of risk factors," fac-tors," Sullivan stated in the project outline. "Over 67 percent have been identified as being limited English proficient.. .and the fact is that only 1 8 percent of the instructional staff hold advanced degrees and none are certified as Bilingual or English as a Second Language specialists." spe-cialists." The goals of the project are increased literacy and improved academic achievement, and plans to achieve these objectives include collaboration of the Uintah School District Utah State University, and the Ute Tribe. The plans involve HUM It II II. I . 1 III I limilLI. -J ' 1 'I ' It 1 Board listens as Principal Ed Johnson presents policy changes at Tuesday's meeting. helping selected staff earn their BilingualESL certification through courses at USU and training all staff to "possess the skills and knowledge to instruct our LEP children chil-dren and youth." This training will involve various courses provided on site as well as summer seminars by guest professors. To ensure success, suc-cess, a project manager will monitor moni-tor the progress of ASPIRE using the Continuous Improvement Evaluation System which was developed by the U.S. Dept of Education. Funding for this project is provided by a federal grant recently awarded to the district for about $245,000 each year for the next five years. Also at Tuesday's meeting, the board discussed the growing building build-ing needs in the district Bill Caldwell, who was appointed chairman chair-man over the VJH Building Needs Committee, was at the meeting to share the committee's requests w ith the board. Their requests include: fust authorizing that an assessment of the VJH facilities be conducted to determine the need for expansion andor new construction, second. seeking public input concerning the matter, and third, investigating the acquisition of land for possible construction con-struction of a new school. In response, the board voted unanimously unani-mously to approve action on these requests. Another responsibility of hoard members is to discuss and vote on student requests for release from school. State law mandates that all students attend school until age 18 unless granted special permission and released by the Board of Education This is a matter that this board does not take lightly. At Tuesday's meeting, members voted almost unanimously to not release a student from school. They made their decision after substantial debate. As always, community members are invited to share their concerns and recommendations with the board. There is a suggestion box at the District Office, and all are welcome wel-come to attend board meetings where patrons are provided an opportunity to express themselves. The next meeting is scheduled for Oct. 23 at 7 p.m. Commissioner appointed to national association Uintah County Commission Chairman Cloyd Harrison was recently been named a member of the National Association of Counties', (NACo) Labor and Employment (Steering Committee by NACo President Javier Gonzales. NACo's 11 steering committees for the policy-making arm of the national association. Each committee commit-tee is comprised of approximately 60-100 county officials who meet several times during the year to examine issues critical to local government gov-ernment The Labor and Employment Steering Committee addresses such issues as employeremployee relations, rela-tions, equal employment opportunity, opportuni-ty, collective bargaining, fringe benefits, ben-efits, workers' compensation and occupational safety and health. The" steering committee also focuses on the employment and training programs pro-grams and the jobs aspect as it relates to welfare reform, youth employment vocational education. migrant and Native American programs pro-grams and rural manpower. The steering committee's recommendations recom-mendations on legislative policies and goals are presented to NACo's membership during the association's associa-tion's Annual Conference. If approved, the recommendations become part of the American County Platform, which is the basis of NACo's effort in representing counties before Congress and the White House. tV -fa LETT'S "EaiLK SiISBH THE CITIZENS FOR A "BETTER" FORM OF GOVERNMENT SAY: Your ad comparing the operational costs of the Grand County Council and the Uintah County Commission pulls numbers out of thin air. And it draws a conclusion that simply isn't true. Here's what we say: OPERATIONAL COSTS FOR 2001 GRAND COUNTY COUNCIL $104,734 UINTAH COUNTY COMMISSION $197,500 Source: Citizens for a Better Form of Government 101001 Vernal Express Ad WE'RE NOT SURE WHERE THEY GET THEIR FACTS!!!! THE FACTS ARE: 200t GRAND COUNTY COUNCIL OPERATING COSTS ARE $177,158.00 (FIGURE PROVIDED BY THE CLERKAUDITOR OF GRAND COUNTY) 'OPERATING COSTS $177,158.00 DIVIDED BY AN APPROXIMATE POPULATION OF 9000 EQUALS A COST OF $1 9.68 PER GRAND COUNTY CITIZEN PER YEAR. 2001 UINTAH COUNTY COMMISSION OPERATING COSTS ARE $232,700.00 (FIGURE PROVIDED BY THE CLERKAUDITOR OF UINTAH COUNTY) OPERATING COSTS $232,700.00 DIVIDED BY AN APPROXIMATE POPULATION OF 27,000 EQUALS A COST OF $8.62 PER UINTAH COUNTY CITIZEN PER YEAR. WHICH IS MORE EXPENSIVE??? YOU DECIDE!!! YOU CAN ALSO USE THE FOLLOWING CHART WHICH WAS PRINTED ON THE FRONT PAGE OF THE SEPT. 25, 2001 EDITION OF THE VERNAL EXPRESS TO VERIFY OUR FIGURES AND THOSE OF THE CLERKAUDITORS. CommissionCouncil Operation Costs Comparison (1993 is year council was implemented in Grand County) Year Grand Uintah Grand Uintah Budget Budget Travel Travel 1992 $76,536 $167,693 $7856 $4953 1993 $72,783 $163,300 $4570 $7795 1994 $119,107 $167,148 NA $6248 1995 $138,365 $174,504 NA $5275 1996 $143,612 $181,787 NA $6287 1997 $155,850 $187,704 $13,428 $3574 1998 $152,398 $190,363 $14,000 $2381 1999 $168,212 $200,382 $14,000 $2917 2000 $177,158 $211,600 $15,000 $3562 2001 $177,158 $232,700 $15,000 $6500 IT MUST BE NOTED THAT "OPERATING COSTS" ARE NOT SALARY ALONE AS THE OTHER SIDE WOULD HAVE YOU BELIEVE. Paid for by the Committee to Retain Traditional County Government |