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Show A12 Wednesday, January 31 , 2007 Hatch nominates young Utahns for military Vernal Express Jury to decide liability in 2002 'Boy Scout Fire Sen. Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah) (R-Utah) has announced the following fol-lowing Uintah County nomination nomi-nation to military academies in the United States Armed Forces: Emily Shue - Jensen - Merchant Marines As a U.S. Senator, Hatch annually recommends an elite group of candidates for each vacancy at the Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colo.; the Naval Academy, Annapolis, Md.; the Merchant Marine Academy, Kings Point, N.Y.; and the Military Academy, West Point, N.Y. "The battlefields of the 21st Century require men and women of courage, ambition, and intelligence," Hatch said. "I know these young leaders will help win those battles and defend America. It's an honor to help launch them on their way." The selection process for military academies is very competitive. Applicants must demonstrate outstanding performance per-formance in academics, leadership, lead-ership, physical fitness, extracurricular extra-curricular activities, and community com-munity involvement. Selection criteria include interviews, SAT ACT scores, class rank, grades, school records, evaluations evalu-ations by teachers and counselors coun-selors and participation in extracurricular and athletic activities. All the academies place a great deal of emphasis on candidates who can show they have strong leadership skills, both in and out of school. Applicants must be legal Utah residents and unmarried U.S. citizens at least 17 years of age, but not past their 23rd birthday as of July 1, 2007, with no children chil-dren or legal dependents. Some applicants receive multiple nominations and apply to more than one academy, to increase their chances of receiving an appointment. To learn more about the application process, visit US. District Judge, Tena Campbell, denied the government's govern-ment's request to place liability on the Great Salt Lake Boy Scout Council in the 2002 Camp Tomahawk Toma-hawk wildfire. On Tuesday, Jan. 23, Campbell decided a jury trial was needed to determine culpability culpa-bility in a 14,200-acre wildfire in the Uinta Mountains. Forest Service investigators placed the fire's origin near the scout camp, attaching potential blame to the scouts in the $12 million incident. However, conflicting con-flicting testimony, according to Campbell points a level of doubt concerning the fire's ignition. At the time, 17 scouts, ages 12 to 14, were at a wilderness-sur vival camp with two 15-year-old counselors but no adults. The scouts admit building a fire but claimed it was extinguished completely. "But the record fails to provide pro-vide any indication that either the young scouts or the teen counselors conducted a 'cold-out' 'cold-out' test," Campbell said Monday. Mon-day. In this test, a bare hand is run through the cooled coals and ashes. There never should have been any open fires at the camp as the dry conditions in June 2002 forced a state and Great Salt Lake Boy Scout Council restriction re-striction on fires in camps. The Utah Recreational Land Exchange Act is reintroduced http:hatch.senate.gov or contact con-tact Hatch's military academy liaison, Linda Gibbons, at (801) 524-4380. Senator Bob Bennett (R-Utah) (R-Utah) introduced legislation that seeks to consolidate state school trust and public lands, resulting in more funding for Utah's school children and increased protection of critical areas along the Colorado River corridor in Uintah and Grand counties. Bennett introduced similar simi-lar legislation in the 109th Congress, but time constraints at the end of the session prohibited prohib-ited passage of the bill. Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) co-sponsored the measure last year and has signed on again this year. S. 390 - The Utah Recreational Land Exchange Act of 2007 - will be referred to the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources for further consideration. The legislation will take land that cannot be responsibly responsi-bly managed, held currently by Utah's School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration, and trade them for manage- 3 f ? p " g??$$i!fiif rjs:. ; j :v;,v 5. r l i v hire 0 i iwmwppw:. r . HUM ?WMie ,'SM6Si9 jjiuui4UliJiJP!H4l-i A- 'l- I - .1 JJ M.,..- ..- I . i,vvf I- a All Entertainment Centers Priced 7 To Go!! T JETTr Home Furnishings & Sleep Center "Come to our house to make your house a home" 90 South Vernal Ave. 789-4721 Hours: 9 AM -6 PM Copyright 2001 Banker & Briseboise Co. able lands. Bennett explained the legislation to the Senate, "Utah's School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration manages some of the most spectacular lands in America, located along the Colorado River in southeastern Utah. This legislation will ensure that places like Westwater Canyon of the Colorado River, the world famous Kokopelli and Slickrock biking trails, some of the largest natural rock arches in the United States, wilderness study areas, and viewsheds for Arches National Park will be traded into federal ownership and for the benefit of future generations. At the same time, the school children of Utah will receive mineral and development lands that are not environmentally-sensitive, and where responsible development develop-ment makes sense. This will be an equal value exchange, with approximately 40,000 acres exchanged on both sides, giving giv-ing taxpayers and the school children of Utah a fair deal." Currently the lands Bennett mentioned can do nothing for the Trust Lands Administration, as far as generating gen-erating revenue, because they cannot be managed. However, the federally held lands can do nothing as they are causing Bennett to state, "it is a win-win win-win solution." Wilde retires from Daggett County RaNae Wilde retired from Daggett County after serving the county for 35 years. In 2004, Wilde received an Outstanding Elected Official Award in the State of Utah. She began working work-ing for the county in 1971, and ultimately, was elected to the combined position of Auditor Recorder in 1994. When her retirement became final on Dec. 31, 2006, Wilde was noted as the longest continuously serving employee of Daggett County. Over the years, Wilde has worked to see computers come to the county offices, the arrival of the county's Geographical Information System, and the development of new accounting and recording systems. Wilde was also the co-chair of the Daggett County Centennial in 1996. The Daggett County Clerk's office sponsored a retirement party for Wilde on Jan. 5, 2007 in Manila, where guests were treated to a luncheon. Wilde was presented butterfly and flower engraved mirror in honor of her contribution. Naples City Council meeting studies land use Naples City Council met Thursday, Jan. 25, at 7:30 p.m. Of the matters before the council, planning and land use issues figured fig-ured prominently. Greg Blun, Naples City Manager, Man-ager, said. "The Vernal Airport will remain a 'permanent fixture' fix-ture' in its current location." This raises a host of expansion issues important to the public. An open meeting on Feb. 13 at 3 p.m. will present information on the airport and plans for a related re-lated impact study. "An environmental impact study (EIS) was promised by the airport board," said Blun, "We will request that they develop the impact study at the open meeting. Land acquisition must accommodate construction of flight-on controls, crash zones, and emergency lanes." . Growth is happening rapidly in Naples City and plans for public pub-lic information sharing on the airport expansion is essential. i |