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Show 7-1-f CR Ul PRES0H1 -8' C laywed. nightNTl Wednesday Thursday Vf -yl Girl SCQUtS U'ettes take state. See Page B8 Seven-day forecast See page A7 do more than cookies. Flurries possible. Overcast. Rurries possible. See Page B1 L. Single Copy 50$ Wednesday, February 4, 2004 Vernal, Utah 84078 112th Year No. 5 20 Pages p7 WEfflJM SUPPORT OUR TROOPS Express online: www.vernal.com i Sheriff's deputy vehicle is mangled after being hit head-on by another vehicle in which the driver had lost injured in the accident. Poor conditions and alcohol cause run in Poor road conditions and alcohol are attributed to an early Saturday morning head-on collision accident involving a Uintah County Sheriff's deputy. Deputy Travis Mold was westbound west-bound on S.R. 40 just west of the Scenic View Area, west of Vernal. A Dodge Durango driven by Marcus Colorow was east bound when he lost control of the vehicle. The Durango crossed three lanes of travel several times and eventually No traffic lights in near future on highway Hopes for traffic lights at two dangerous intersections on West Highway 40 have been dashed because there is not enough traffic. traf-fic. A recent traffic survey at the intersection near Wal-mart didn't meet the Utah Department of Transportation's (UDOT) requirements for traffic lights, said Kenneth Bassett, Vernal City manager. "Unless an intersection inter-section meets the requirements, UDOT will not place lights at an intersection," he said. The problem at the intersection is most of the traffic at the intersection inter-section is making right-hand turns w hich do not weigh heavily in the criteria for traffic lights. Although a UDOT traffic survey sur-vey has not been done at the 500 South intersection, it won't be approved unless it meets the traffic traf-fic survey criteria. "If the city makes improvements improve-ments at the intersection, it does not guarantee that UDOT will put in the lights," Bassett said. Traffic lights, however, will be going in this summer at 2500 West 500 North and 1500 West and 500 North this summer. Both intersections have met the criteria crite-ria of the traffic survey. The county has already installed the power and electrical lines for the traffic signals on 500 North. It has taken years for the two intersections to meet the state criteria for traffic lights. slid sideways into Deputy Mold's travel lane. Mole took evasive action to minimize mini-mize the impact. However, the vehicles collided in Mold's travel lane. Because the vehicle driver by Colorow had spun around in front of Mold's vehicle, the patrol vehicle vehi-cle struck the passenger's rear side of the oncoming Durango. The driver of the Durango and Mold were transported by Gold Cross Ambulance to Ashley Valley Five receive golden shovel By Maureen Spencer Express Writer Five leaders in Uintah Basin water issues, farming, ranching and government were honored at Tuesday night's 16th Water Conference held at the Western Park Convention Center. Receiving the special "Golden Shovel" recognition awards were Lloyd Miles and Maurice Harvey of Duchesne County, Joe Wahlquist of Daggett County, and Cloyd Harrison and Irvan Haws of Uintah County. Lloyd Miles lives in Mountain Home where he raises cattle. He lives on the same land that his grandfather and great-grandfather homesteaded. He takes pride in tending his nine streams of water on his 2400 acres, which he waters by himself. He has been on the Farnsworth Canal Board for 22 years and is now the vice president Vet imirges vaccine for By Maureen Spencer Express Writer "It's time to get serious, if you care," says Vernal veterinarian Sheila Beckstead of the Countryside Veterinary Clinic. Unvaccinated horses are at much greater risk this year, as the national wave of West Nile Virus infections is poised to strike the eastern Utah horse population hard. Of prime concern to Beckstead is the time that it takes a horse to gain immunity before the infected mosquitoes mos-quitoes begin biting. Following the initial shot, a booster must be given within three to six weeks later, and Q o o Medical Center where they were both treated and released with minor injuries. The continuing investigation into the accident is being handled by Utah Highway Patrol Trooper Travis Lemon. Lemon was able to determine that Colorow was under the influence and was subsequently arrested and incarcerated in the Uintah County Jail. He was charged with DUI and having open container contain-er in the vehicle. The two passen and manager. Maurice Harvey operates a 700-acre 700-acre farm, dairy, beef and sod operation. oper-ation. He has served the Uintah Basin Irrigation company for 33 years, 15 years as its president. He was recognized for making the transition from shovel and flood irrigation to modern applications of wheel lines and pivots. His 2004 project is to pipe the West Pleasant Valley Lateral and an automated telemetry system put in to regulate each day's allotment of water to farmers. This is the first such system in the state. Joe Wahlquist moved to Manila after retirement. He is currently manager and operator for the Daggett County Water and Sewer District. Cloyd Harrison has farmed all of his life, owning a small farm in Maeser for 35 years. He worked as a licensed operator for the Maeser Water & Sewer District for 15 following the booster it takes an additional month to gain full immunity. immu-nity. Animals vaccinated last year must have their annual booster of the West Nile vaccine by March 1 in order to maintain immunity. The seasoned veterinarian says she fully expects to see a whole lot more cases than Uintah County did last year. She says that one in three horses infected are expected to die of the virus, but in the Uintah Basin the numbers went to half of all infected animals died. Animals who survive frequently experience permanent debilitating after effects. control. Both drivers were with deputy gers in the Colorow vehicle were not injured and were released. Sheriff Rick Hawkins said that drivers should slow down during winter driving conditions and be aware that there are impaired drivers. driv-ers. If you see a driver that you feel is impaired, contact the Sheriff's Department or Central Dispatch at 789-4222. years. He did the hydrological analysis for the Ashley National Forest. Irvan A. Haws served as president, presi-dent, board member and on several Vernal Chamber of Commerce committees including the water and V 1 mm I f 4 X i ! rttlt 11 Golden Shovel Award winners at Tuesday night's Water Conference Irvan Haws, Joe Wahlquist and Cloyd Harrison. "We do feel that West Nile effects a wide variety of other animals, but the disease is not manifest clinical- iy" She feels that alpacas may be at particular risk should infected mosquitoes mos-quitoes penetrate an unprotected area of the animals. Alpacas cannot use the horse vaccine. She cites a Denver Zoo losing an Arctic wolf, the Bronx Zoo losing a Harbor Seal and an Idaho alligator farm killed all of its alligators after an infected reptile may have passed the disease to a human. "A horse dying of West Nile Virus dies one of the most horrible deaths a horse can experience," Beckstead McKeacMe explains stiate fooadlgeti By Steven R. Wallis Express Editor To protect Utah's bond rating. Gov. Olene Walker is proposing to take about $14 million from the state's loan fund for water projects, said Lt. Gov. Gayle McKeachnie, keynote speaker during the 16th Annual Uintah Basin Water Conference. Utah has a triple A bond rating one of the few states in the country that has such a high rating. If Utah had the bonding rating of California, over the past 15 years, the state would have paid more than $39 million in interest. '"Financial advisors are now telling us, for the first time, that we are at risk of losing the triple A rating," rat-ing," McKeachnie said. The reason for the questioning of the state bond rating is because the state has borrowed a lot of money to build highways on the Wasatch Front, which haven't been paid for, and rating agencies are questioning, because of the decline in Utah's economy, the state's ability to generate gen-erate the revenue to pay its obligations. obliga-tions. The state's main source of income is sales tax, McKeachnie said. During robust economic times, the state gave a portion of it sales tax revenue away for water projects and road. Now that the economy is not so good, the governor is looking to take some of the money back. Last year, the state's one-time money totalled $42 million to support sup-port long-term projects. "The governor gov-ernor wants to cut that amount in half," McKeachnie said. "Many leaders in the Legislature agree that it was a mistake for the state to give away its surplus funds." "It makes us some enemies when we have to take the money back," he said. McKeachnie said that the state awards power committee. A successful and respected businessman, he also was instrumental in the Dinosaur Gardens committee. Active in Scouting and other community activities, Haws was named by See Golden on A2 POWER ;-X V area horses says. "The animal wants to live but can't get up. It's motor nerves are paralyzed, and huge weeping sores appear." She says owners frequently put the animal down because they can't stand to watch the suffering being experienced. "Owners will build elaborate slings and spend hundreds of dollars dol-lars trying to save a valuable animal, ani-mal, when about $20 worth of vaccine vac-cine would have saved all of the suffering and expense," Beckstead says. Still controversial is the vaccination vaccina-tion of a pregnant mare. Foals are felt to be covered by protection sw..: . S if om Lt. Gov. Gayle McKeachnie receives gift from Chamber, presented pre-sented by Richard Harrington, after addressing the Water Conference. needs to be in good financial standing stand-ing before it cause benefit anyone else. Under Gov. Walker's budget recommendations, rec-ommendations, the water project fund would still receive $48 million. mil-lion. The recommendation takes away about $14 million of the fund. McKeachnie said the governor has set up a deadline of Aug. 1 this year to come up with a new tax plan, upon which she will base her budget for next year. McKeachnie said while federal and state governments have gotten smaller, local government has doubled dou-bled and tripled in size, and the state has paid for it. He said if we follow a basic tax principle: "He who spends the money should be the one to raise it." we will be more careful with tax dollars. "Entities are more prudent with their own money, and it is better than depending on a 'sugar daddy' for local projects." McKeachnie's answer to the state's financial crunch is economic growth, but things are not as they were in the 1950s. "Today we are a part of a global economy," he said. "More than 3,000 Utah businesses sell their products to Japan." He suggested that there is no better bet-ter place to live, than Vernal, if you enjoy the out of doors. "People are now choosing to live in places because they want it, rather than because they have to," he said. Without economic growth, the state may be facing tax increases, he suggested. were Maurice Harvey, Lloyd Miles, from the mother's milk for four or five weeks. Neighboring Colorado experienced experi-enced a heavy animal and human death toll to the virus last year. A token number of cases were being reported in the Uintah Basin by the end of the summer. "The thing that saved Utah last autumn, was autumn," says Uintah County Mosquito Abatement director direc-tor Dr. Steven Romney. He says he hopes he is miscalculating, but fears a heavy loss of un-vaccinated animals ani-mals this year as soon as the infected infect-ed mosquitoes become active. 1 |