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Show Vernal Express )DfuDn) Letters to the Editor What is your opinion? The Vernal Express welcomes letters from its readers concerning any subject pertinent to the Uintah Basin. There are no restrictions on contents, if not libelous, vindictive vin-dictive and in good taste. The letters need to be a reasonable length, two typewritten double spaced pages. Letters must be submitted exclusively to the Vernal Express and bear the writer's writ-er's full name, signature, phone number and address. Letters for the sole purpose of expressing express-ing thanks to individuals or groups will not be printed in the forum. Letters may be mailed to P.O. Box 1000, Vernal, Utah 84078, faxed at 789-8690 or through email at editorvernal.com. The name or names of the persons submitting letters must appear on all published letters. All letters let-ters are subject to condensation. Letters express the opinion of the writer and are not necessarily necessar-ily the opinion of the Vernal Express Editor. Constitution Week Dear Editor, My hat goes off to the National Center for Constitutional Studies (NCCS)! They have done what most people peo-ple would say was impossible to do. They assembled and mailed out over 100,000 Constitution Week Study Kits to schools all across America. These materials materi-als met the federal requirement to teach students about our nation's founding document and are scheduled to be used by Sept. 17 which is Constitution Day. This project was no small feat. They had children as young as three years old carrying car-rying empty boxes away from the tables where the packets were being assembled to a lady 93 years old who worked four New oil now brought in from old formations While the thought of getting new oil from an old formation sounds intriguing, it has inherent inher-ent dangers, that is the reason that Well Control training is a requirement for anyone drilling drill-ing on public lands. New technology has created cre-ated a new method for drilling by using a lower inside pressure pres-sure fallow oil still lying in... the outer low pressure formation forma-tion layers to be pumped out. This is done by a lighter weight drilling fluid, fresh water solution solu-tion or a brine, rather than the heavier barite, known as drilling drill-ing mud, used in former years. IT f 6 i VVu"$ Mr. G's UHS Drama Department: Gene Freerksen (Mr. G), director, Cleo Miles, Barbara McClure, Ed Elder, Annette Hatch, Mohea Caldwell and Kevin Man-waring. Man-waring. Back row: Jack Christensen and Randy Dean. People from the past make contact with the present If the name "Mr. G" brings up memories from school days that were finished a long time ago, it may be a remembrance of dramatic events in 1972. If that hint doesn't bring it to the surface, think Uintah High School drama department ... one-act plays ... first at state. Specifically, Ed Elder, Annette Hatch, Mohea Caldwell, Kevin Manwaring, Jack Christensen, Randy Dean, Barbara McClure, and Steve Weber should enjoy recalling Gene Freerksen, better known as "Mr. G." He directed the one act plays which placed UHS drama club first in state competition com-petition for two consecutive years, the second being in the spring of 1972. Mr. G made contact with the Vernal Express last week because he and a partner, Ron Stassens, have begun a movie script about his life. At the present time, they are anticipating antici-pating the results from a contest con-test in which they entered a screen play along the theme of "Wild Bill Howerhand Meets Billy." He does this script design from his home in Hebo on the Oregon coast, while looking look-ing out the window at Three Rivers. Penned as the Radiant Public Forum days from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., and every age in between. Missionaries from several different countries, who are serving in Utah, used some of their volunteer time to help, as well as a minister visiting from Illinois. A lady with a four-day-old baby helped the entire week, as well as a lady that had been scheduled for surgery that same week. Individuals from Missouri and Arizona spent most of their vacation time helping. Many people, after putting in a full day at work, spent their evenings eve-nings putting packets together. Several businesses donated food, and two church buildings in the area were made available for the project. On the last day of the project two individuals gave generous donations to complete the postage post-age necessary to mail the packets pack-ets to the schools. While previously, the balance in pressure kept the oil in the lower pressured formation layers lay-ers out, now there is an effort to be underbalanced so that the oil can be brought in. With the high price of a barrel bar-rel of oil and the demand at least equal to the price, drilling has to be economically successful. success-ful. Drilling on the economic side is more hazardous, but the safety equipment at the well site levels the playing field. By watching the instruments the drilling crew is aware every moment of the conditions, the pressures, and the drilling. A - Writers, Stassens decided they should do a movie script on Mr. G's life "because nobody has that much happen to them." In search of the man who was named "best actor" two years running in the state contest, con-test, Gene talked about those years. "When I was looking for a teaching position upon graduation gradua-tion from BYU, the department head spoke to some schools saying, say-ing, 'I know a guy who didn't get graded very well by his cooperating teacher, he had a C "I had gone to work at Grand Canyon North Rim as a sous-chef when Mr. Ashley from Vernal called on a Friday and asked me to interview on Monday. I asked him if Saturday would work. He was surprised but agreed and I drove all night to the Uintah District Office. I had found out they had never won a drama meet, so I said, 'You'll be 1 next year.' They promised to buy me and the team a steak dinner if we placed first. And the same teacher who had given me the C grade was also in state drama competition. I got a bet out of her because she thought her class would win, so mm I The kit contained a DVD movie entitled "A More Perfect Union" depicting the coming com-ing forth of the Constitution during the long, hot summer in Philadelphia in 1787. Also included in the kit was a pocket pock-et constitution, instructional sheets for the teacher, and a beautiful full-color, 32 page Teacher's Study Guide which breaks up the movie into teaching teach-ing segments for different ages and grades. It includes activities activi-ties and games. All of this for just $3.00! If there are any teachers out there who would like to obtain this kit that did not get one, you have until Sept. 7 to order it. Simply visit the website www. nccs.net. Imagine students all across America learning the truth about the Constitution this year! Sonya Ray Vernal, Utah BOP (Blow-out Preventer) is can be placed in the opening to prevent a kick or blow-out, but it also changes the pressure pres-sure below which has to be controlled. con-trolled. This process is being used primarily for newly drilled wells. The requirement for Well Control certification can be met any time of year with class work in Vernal at UBATC, 559 North, 1700 West, just off the Uintah High School campus, in the brick building which formerly housed Northeastern Counseling Center. I ended up with two steak dinners!" din-ners!" It seems that Ed Elder was a good-looking student with long-ish long-ish blonde hair, and when Mr. G approached him about being in a play, he laughed and said, "I've never even read a script!" That would have been in 1971, the first time Uintah High School won first place in Class B at state competition. Elder won Best Actor for two years, under Mr. G's direction. He declined a scholarship to BYU but elected to go to Southern Utah University in Cedar City. Mr. G probably has a million stories about all that happened to him on his way from Vernal, Utah to Firth, Idaho to Hebo, Oregon, but maybe the movie will share some of the tales. A tantalizing vignette might be seeing Mr. G as a stand-up comedian in Las Vegas. "Well, sometimes I sat down," he added. Gene says that Stassens does the writing and he comes up with ideas. Readers who are intrigued with seeing the names of friends, colleagues or acquaintances acquain-tances in Mr. G's list will want to know what fame they reached. According to the April 27, 1972 edition of the r I r V. ARE YOU GOIN'TOTHE FAMILY REUNlCmiS O DON'T KNOW. VENDED IN A 016 Utah Public In a continuing effort to connect con-nect with the communities it serves all over the state, Utah Public Radio is leaving its Utah State University campus facilities facili-ties briefly in September and has events scheduled in the Uintah Basin, Tuesday, Sept. 12. UPR hosts Lee Austin, Tom Williams and Bryan Earl will each take a turn at the microphone micro-phone that day, hosting a two-hour two-hour edition of the station's locally originated program, Access Utah. The special broadcast will be heard live from 9-11 a.m. It will originate from Utah State University's Uintah Basin Center in Roosevelt, to be followed fol-lowed by a noon luncheon with Basin listeners which is scheduled sched-uled for Vernal. The program's lead segment, at 9 a.m., will include Earl's weekly gardening show with guest Heather Campbell of High 1 :i juv - Vernal Express, the play "Hello Out There" was presented by five schools at the state meet. Uintah's success was attributed attribut-ed to their different movements on stage and the superb acting of Ed Elder, best actor, and Annete Hatch, best supporting actress. Barbara McClure lost the best actress award by a very small margin, the news report stated. In the individual events at the state competition, Diane Powell received an Excellent for her humorous reading. Mary Ann Abplanalp received excellent in dramatic reading and Staton Mercer an Excellent in mono-acting. Pantomime Excellent was received by Mohea Caldwell; scene cutting went to Kevin Manwaring and Cleo Miles with both receiving a Good rating. The paper quoted quot-ed Mr. G as having stated that all of the students did an exceptional excep-tional job representing the school. Any misspelled names are transcribed from the earlier ear-lier edition. A copy of the 1972 article is on microfilm at the Uintah County Library in the Regional History Center, as are thousands thou-sands of pieces of history. you better be there, cause) 1 1 AINT DONE YETy r LAST YEAR R6HT ) 1 V Radio headed this way Public Radio hosts are left to right Williams. Country Roses in Jensen. Tom Williams will follow fol-low at 9:30, talking with some Basin residents who have taken advantage of Continuing Education Center offerings to earn degrees in non traditional tradi-tional settings. That segment (9:30-10:00) will also include USU Uintah Basin Executive Director, Guy Denton. The program's second hour host is Lee Austin. He will focus on the rapid growth of the energy sector economy in the Basin. Guests include public pub-lic officials and representatives of the energy and extraction industries. Williams, a Vernal native, will arrive in his hometown in time for the Monday morning (Sept. 11) Open Forum segment of Access Utah which he and Club XS calls statute unconstitutional and asks for a new trial By Janine Shannon Express Writer In a hearing last Wednesday, defense council for Club XS owner Annette Haakinson argued that a statute related to the case is unconstitutional and requested that Judge John Anderson grant a "trial de novo," or new trial. The case was set for judicial review, where Anderson would either affirm or deny the recommendation recommen-dation of the Utah Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (UDABC) commission, but now both parties await Anderson's decision on this new issue. Club XS was shut down at the end of June based on charges that the club allowed lewd conduct on the premises, served alcohol after 2 a.m., served alcohol to those already intoxicated, and allowed customers cus-tomers to have two drinks at a time. The club's alcohol license was consequently revoked, but then reinstated in July pending judicial review. According to a UDABC statute stat-ute concerning judicial review, "the findings of the commission commis-sion on questions of fact are final and are not subject for review." Defense council Bruce Oliver argued that this particular statute contradicts the rules outlined in the Utah Administrative Procedure Act (UAPA) and does not allow the judge to review the facts of the ) v wecisciHU f) Bryan Earl, Lee Austin, and Tom Austin regularly host Monday and Friday mornings at 9:00. Access Utah listeners are invited to call with questions during the entire two-hour broadcast (1-800-826-1495.) There is also limited seating available for those interested in sitting in on the program. After the broadcast in Roosevelt, UPR's visit to the Basin moves to Vernal where listeners are invited to attend an informal reception and lunch at noon at the Old Dinosaur Gardens on Main Street. Utah Public Radio is heard in the Uintah Basin at 100.1 FM (Roosevelt) and 91.5 FM (Vernal). For more information visit Utah Public Radio's web site at UPR.ORG. case. In other words, the judge is bound by the findings of the ABC commission, unable to review the evidence. Oliver strongly objects to this and said that "substantial hearsay was admitted" at the previous hearing that led to the UD ABC's recommendation that the club's alcohol license be revoked. He said that some police officer's testimonies were adopted as "findings," even though they were not eyewitness eye-witness accounts. Sheila Page, representing UDABC from the Utah Attorney General's Office, disagreed. She said that discrepancies between statutes do not make one or the other unconstitutional and that judicial review is clearly the appropriate course of action in this case. She also argued that the statements provided by the officers were sworn testimonies, testimo-nies, cross-examined until both sides were satisfied, and that the defense could have filed objections to any of the testimonies testi-monies at any time, which they did not. ' "In our opinion the more specific statute needs to apply," Page said, referring to the UDABC statute. Anderson complimented both parties on their effective presentations and the motion filed by defense council Oliver was taken under advisement. Anderson will issue a ruling at a later date. |