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Show IIT WHOM' C '-1-K UTAH Single Copy 50C Vernal, Utah 84078 114th Year No. 15 'I f) - ASSfVn A .nr.,.. w ot -a woo 4'l 4 April ly, zuuo HEAD START Program gives student leg up. See B1 HELP WANTED Businesses hiring. See A12 Wed I TJhi 419 420 1'.. C rv:... r 'tlV 6434 7238 WEATHER PEN BRt 1M-TYJNC. SeeAlf BY OK r Storm drainage concerns county By Steven R. Wallis Express Editor Plans for storm drainage nearly put a major subdivision on hold and puts a question on the approval of over 1000 other homes in subdivisions up for approval in Uintah County. Monday Uintah County Commissioners were asked to approve Phase Two of the Bonnie Lass Subdivision. The area of concern for the commissioners commis-sioners was one lot in the 24-lot addition that would be used for storm drainage. "Who is going to be responsible respon-sible for the lot?" Commissioner Dave Haslem asked. The lot will be used as a catch basin for storm drainage for all 46 lots in the subdivision located locat-ed at 1100 South Vernal Avenue. "Does the subdivision owner maintain the lot or does the county?" Haslem questioned. The proposal that a lot be set aside in the subdivision is a "stop-gap" measure until Uintah County, Vernal City and Naples City prepare a valley-wide valley-wide storm drainage system. Such a system will cost millions to construct and won't be built for two to three years. Meanwhile, Uintah County has several options: Have the lots deeded to the county once they come up to county specifications. Sell the lots to pay for the valley-wide system when needed. Create a special service district for every subdivision that would charge homeowners for storm drainage. Require a homeowners association to be responsible for the catch basin and its maintenance. mainte-nance. County resident JC Brewer said he didn't like the home owners solution because they tend to be "little dictatorships," which deflate when residents move out of the subdivision. Commissioners could not agree on a stop gap measure, but approved the subdivision once a property storm drainage plan has been submitted. "We have talked about this for over an hour, and we won't come up with solution today," said Commissioner Mike McKee. Ti f r 'Ail ne C'"as Box Anfel Workers prepare statue of Angel of Hope to be placed on pedestal. Angel of Hope arrives in Vernal By Janine Shannon Express Writer On Dec. 6, 2004, Wayne and Pam Merrill attended the 10th annual candlelight ceremony cer-emony of The Christmas Box Angel in Salt Lake City. The couple were so touched by the ceremony, they decided that the Vernal community needed an "Angel of Hope." After putting together a committee that helped collect over $30,000 from local donors, the Vernal Memorial Cemetery is now home to the 63rd "Angel of Hope" statue, which arrived on Thursday. The Christmas Box Angel Memorial, which centers around the statue, will be dedicated dedicat-ed on May 5. The first "Angel of Hope," a sculpted bronze statue located at the Salt Lake City Cemetery, was dedicated on Dec. 6, 1994 as a memorial for bereaved parents. The idea for the statue stemmed from "The Christmas Box," a book by Richard Paul Evans that tells the story of a young family that moves in with a widow whose daughter daugh-ter had died at a young age. The book is partly based on the experiences of Evans' own mother who lost a child and was never able to mourn. In order to provide a place of healing, Evans created The Christmas Box Angel Memorial, and such memorials are now located in public gardens and cemeteries cem-eteries all across the United States, each displaying an exact replica of the original angel statue. The Angels of Hope Committee, which helped to bring this statue to Vernal, consists con-sists of Wayne and Pam Merrill, Mark and Mary Ann Raymond, and Greg and Kim McKenzie. "The members of the committee know the pain of losing a child," Pam Merrill said. "Through the 'Angel of Hope' monument, we want to offer hope and healing to other bereaved parents." The committee asked for approval from the Uintah County commissioners who designated a secluded plot of land at the Vernal Memorial Cemetery for the "Angel of Hope." The Vernal Memorial Cemetery was chosen because it is centrally located and because it provides a nice overlook of the surrounding area. Besides the statue, stat-ue, the memorial includes four benches and will also feature a pathway made of engraved pavers. These pavers, purchased by donors in memory of loved ones, will be installed before the dedication. "We would like to thank those people who contributed so willingly to bring this 'Angel of Hope' to Vernal," Mark Raymond said. The dedication on May 5 begins at 7 p.m., and everyone is invited to attend, not just those who have lost children. A candlelight ceremony, like the one the Merrills attended attend-ed in Salt Lake City, will be held every year on December 6. t f - v? X'A-' V 4th graders get feel for farming 4th grader gets to feed a goat during Farm Field day. Photo Courtesy of Jennifer Petty. By Jennifer Petty Express Writer On Tuesday the annual Farm Field Day was held to help educate students about farming and livestock. Dianne Batty, Uintah County president of the Farm Bureau, said: "Many of the parents . or grandparents grand-parents of the kids we are teaching are one or more generation away from the farm industry and it is important to us to help educate edu-cate the youth about the importance of agriculture." This year's exhibition featured 12 different stations sta-tions and educated 465 fourth graders about agriculture agri-culture related topics such as: bee keeping, water management, man-agement, hunting, farmer responsibilities, crops, dairy and beef production, goat farming, sheep shearing, shear-ing, forestry, farm safety, soil conservation, and ATV safety. Some of the booths were run by Farm Bureau personnel, but many presenters pre-senters were knowledgeable knowledge-able volunteers from the community. " 1 ' Pam Clinch, who gave a presentation about the many roles a farmer plays such as botanist, chem ist, geneticist, mechanic, biologist, veterinarian, and businessman, said, "Everyone has a relationship relation-ship to agriculture and there is not anyone who is not dependent on it". She explained that it is only through technology and science that farming is successful suc-cessful because only about two out of every 100 people are farmers so one farmer must feed roughly 50 people. peo-ple. Ana Batty who owns a produce business and Echo Sheffer her daughter, gave a presentation about the role of soil in agriculture. "These are dirt cookies," Sheffer said as she passed out packaged cookies to intrigued listeners. Sheffer then had the students list the ingredients that are used to make cookies and went on to explain, with help from her audience, how each ingredient is tied into the soil. Following this explanation, Sheffer brought home the importance impor-tance of soil when she said, "Now, taste the cookie and tell me if it tastes like dirt." When asked to comment on her impressions of the activity, Karen Young, an aide for Mrs. Grammer's fourth grade class at Naples Elementary said, "I love it! The kids have really learned a lot and are interested inter-ested in what is being said. It's neat to have them learn it first hand because many of them wouldn't have the chance to learn this stuff otherwise." The Farm Bureau, which works to develop policies in the legislature that will help local farmers, farm-ers, sponsored the event as part of their "Ag in the Classroom" program. The Farm Bureau also sponsors spon-sors essay contests and outstanding out-standing teacher awards in an effort to help educate school-age children about the importance of agriculture agricul-ture in life. The Bureau also provides in-service training for teachers. When asked if teachers were receptive to this training, train-ing, Dave Bailey, a regional manager for the Farm Bureau, said, "Absolutely, teachers are always receptive recep-tive when they hear about it, but sometimes it is hard to get the word out." Teachers and parents can learn more about the "Ag in the Classroom" program at http:utfb.fb.org. Utah shale company out of running The U.S. Bureau of Land Management eliminated a Utah-based Utah-based oil shale company from the opportunity to develop the White River Oil Shale facility. Last week's decision put Oil-Tech Oil-Tech Inc, out of the running for research and development leases to work 160-acre parcel of BLMland. "I was disappointed by the decision," said the company's chief technology officer Byron Merrell of Vernal. "It would have saved us a lot of money and helped us come online a couple of years sooner." Oil-Tech failed to advance because of uncertainty over how it would work an abandoned aban-doned mine and control furnace emissions and runoff discharges, discharg-es, said Jim Edward, chief of the solid minerals branch of the BLM in Colorado. "We are not going to cry about it," Merrell said. "It just shows that I am not the only crazy guy in town." Oil-Tech will continue to work on its retort location east of Bonanza near Cowboy Canyon. The company has leased 34,000 acres of oil shale on state lands. Alabama-based Oil Shale Exploration Co. was picked over Oil-Tech to work the abandoned mine. Both companies applied to work the same mine, ensuring ensur-ing one would be eliminated. "We could purchase oil shale from Oil Shale Exploration; if not, we would have to dig our own mine," Merrell said. Oil Shale Exploration Co. plans to use a rotary kiln to bake shale oil out of a supply of 30,000 tons of rock left outside the White River mine. If the technology works, the company would use the mine to reach more oil shale underground. From 1996 to 1998 Oil-Tech operated its retort at the White River Mine. Eventually it moved the retort to its present location. "We have been fighting with the BLM for the past 10 years to leave the mine open," Merrell said. The White River Mine was abandoned in the 1980s when the federal subsidy for oil from oil shale disappeared with the changing of a presidential administration. "Now there is so much more need for oil and oil shale is the only new source available," Merrell said. "We are 10 to 20 years ahead of any other company com-pany in retorting oil shale." By the fourth quarter of next year, Oil-Tech hopes to have a commercially operational version ver-sion of its retort. It will produce 1,000 barrels of oil a day. In a statement, Oil-Tech chief executive Romit Bhattacharya said the BLM program was only "the first of many opportunities opportuni-ties to develop domestic sources of alternative energy for our nation's future need. We look forward to working with the BLM, the State of Utah and corporate cor-porate entities in ensuring that our shale-to-oil technology plays a contributing role toward our nation's energy independence." In western Colorado, Shell is seeking approval to work three separate parcels of federal land. Shell is perfecting the in-situ method of baking oil shale from the ground using heating rods drilled into the layers of rock. The process can take three to five years to bake. The BLM advanced variation on the in-situ technique for Chevron and EGL Resources. Each would like to work a parcel par-cel of ground in Rio Blanco County. In Colorado oil shale deposits are closer to the surface sur-face than in Utah. |