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Show A2 Wednesday, December 12, 2007 Oil Shale Continued from Al the effort to test large-scale production in Utah. "Last year we raised almost $20 million to get exploratory testing going," said Dana. "We don't need to be afraid of oil shale. We can be proud of the fact that with eco-shale we have a small footprint. On just one acre we r Vernal (USPS 0892-1091) Periodical postage paid at Vernal, Utah Published weekly at 54 N. Vernal Ave., Vernal, UT 84078 POSTMASTER: Send address changes to the Vernal Express at 54 N. Vernal Ave., Vernal, UT 84078 OFFICE HOURS: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday Phone: 435-789-3511, Fax: 435-789-8690 DEADLINES: News, legal notices, classified ads and display ads must be received by 5 p.m. the Friday prior to publication PUBLISHER: Kevin Ashby - kashbyvernal.com ASSOCIATE EDITOR: Les Bowen - editorvernal.com ADVERTISING MANAGER: Byran Marshall - bmarshallvernal.com ADVERTISING: Jacque Hobbs veads4uyahoo.com CLASSIFIED: Tonya Harmer classifiedsvernal.com OFFICE: Harriet Harding WRITERS: Mary Bernard Marleah Jacobson Casey Christensen - sportsvernal.com PRODUCTION: Heather Crosby Michele Roper On the Web: http:www.vernal.com Email: editorvernal.com Subscription Rates: I Clip and Send to: Vernal Express Out Vernal, Utah 84078 Name Address City Cash or Check only. Own Your Own Sears Store in Vernal, UT Appliances, Electronics, Lawn & Garden and Tools Sears Authorized Retail Dealer Stores is seeking a Creative Entrepreneur who can drive future growth in the Vernal, UT market area. By purchasing this existing Sears Retail Business H from Sears vou will Be control Your Providing you with the strength of sears Extensive advertising and marketing support Complete inventory with no cost to the owner Professional training and on-going support Sears collects no fees or royalties Take the first step today! Visit our web site for more details. www.searsdealerstores.com If you do not have access to the internet and would like to receive a general information packet about our program, call toll free 1-888-259-2616. I - " V a ay- can produce 4.2 million gallons of diesel." Located in Section 29 of Township 12S and Range 25E, the eco-shale test site is south of the White River and west of the state line in southern Uintah County. Its subsurface geology offers of-fers a relatively shallow resource layer that is accessible by surface mining. "Core holes show, on average, that there are 19-plus gallons In the Uintah Basin 1 Yr. $26 - 2 Yr. $48 J Out of the Uintah Basin 1 Yr. $42 - 2 Yrs. $70 I of State - 1 Yr. $46 2 Yrs. $80 Zip4 Sorry No Charges Your Own Boss and Own Income. i m TV 'i VvV-v - MOToroia W315 1 A Iris -- v , r ".UT vLUk fei - is' Ll i I ' New activation or renewal on $30month or higher plan with 2-year contract required. Ask Restrictions apply. Offers may end at any time; while supplies last. Visit us at 211 E 200 Vernal per ton of rubble in this field," Dana projects that "the region may offer as much as $3.5 billion dollars per square mile which translates into $60 per barrel oil. Some 30 to 100,000 barrels per day could be possible, depending upon production." The biggest drawback to production may be the county's transportation infrastructure. Extracted material will have to be trucked from the mine site off-site refineries. To do that the retort will have to be transported by rail to localities east and west. "We recently acquired a 340-acre 340-acre parcel near Green River, Utah to construct a rail facility," Dana said. Access to that facility will require upgrading the Seep Ridge Road that extends through the county to 1-70. Its use is problematic as the continual use of the road by heavy mining vehicles takes a daily toll on its condition. "It will take many millions of dollars to get this road upgraded," up-graded," Mike McKee, county commissioner, explaining that hurdles remain to the initiation of the process. "For thirty years and beyond there has been discussion dis-cussion about oil-shale and now, the potential is much closer to being realized." HQ TiSSOT SWISS WATCHES SINCE 1853 6 ACT1LE FUNCTIONS altimeter compass barometer alarm thermometer fountain IQest JEWELERS Kmart Plaza 435-781-1221 f iiHHHiiijiniNWifSfiirw at j, " 1 - ' " It C One k one, jdu'vc all sloiK'd In And tilled our licarts to (he brim Willi gratitude and great joy too For the friendsliii) shared w1Ui jdu. We nish our good friends and neighlors all the liest this Girislinas. 3 i s ' Pin) PERRY IISUEASCE A6ESCH IIC. 209 South 500 West !no)i!ipffiS L Express Public Transit Continued from Al tation system so these people have the ability to get around," he said. Coordinating Efforts What many people don't know is that the stepping stones for a more comprehensive transit system in the Basin are already in place. Five years ago, Gilbert said, UBAOG was given approximately approxi-mately $350,000 to expand public transportation options. This money was used to purchase pur-chase several vans and financially compensate other organizations with existing vans for offering their services more frequently. "It was just starting to catch on, but then our funding ran out," Gilbert said. Although funding dried up, officials still have the vans they purchased. They also learned a lot about what it takes to run a successful transit system in the year and a half the system was under operation, Gilbert said. Perhaps the most important lesson learned, which will be applied to any future public transportation plan, is that cooperation co-operation and communication among community partnerships is absolutely essential. H); u Tduch the touch screen watch Vernal 781-0484 win lyira about additional phone offer available with $100 mail-In rebate option. N In Roosevelt, or at 609 W Main In Vernal -or- call 622-5007 today! There are currently a handful hand-ful of already-existing public transportation vehicles in the Basin. The Uintah Basin Applied Ap-plied Technology College offers a shuttle three times a day between its campuses in Roosevelt and Vernal. For a small fee, members of the general public are welcome to hitch a ride as long as there are empty seats. The Ute Indian Tribe also has three or four buses that operate on a fixed schedule. Additionally, some transportation is available to senior citizens through community com-munity senior centers and there is also an independently-owned taxi cab service in Vernal. "There are plenty of vehicles out there right now, and one of the goals of our group is to see how those could be coordinated more and used more efficiently," Gilbert said. "Anything that we develop will only build on what is already being done, and fortunately, all the community partners are beingreally cooperative." coopera-tive." A Comprehensive Study Officials expect to have a better idea as to what it will take to coordinate the small army of existing vehicles into a public transit system that runs like clockwork once a comprehensive compre-hensive transportation study is completed in mid-2008. This $70,000 study has been underway for months now, with the Utah Department of Transportation Trans-portation picking up 80 percent of the study cost and local governments govern-ments pitching in the remaining 20 percent. The first phase of the study focused on identifying specific spe-cific public transit needs in this area. TriCounty Health to offer toy lead testing By Kristin Baldwin Express Writer The community is invited to bring their toys to the Uintah County Building on Dec. 12 from 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. to have them tested for lead. Toy lead testing test-ing will also be available at the Duschene County Building from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. The message of TriCounty Health this holiday season is that toy shoppers need to exercise caution. In the past year, mil-liorqfoy mil-liorqfoy have be,n recaljed because of dangerous lead paint -a4ia,rnMs.The ledd tMirlg Is being offered in response to this epidemic. A representative from the state of Utah's Environmental Health Department is coming to Vernal to perform the testing. test-ing. This representative will be using special equipment that measures the lead on the surface and throughout a toy. Doug Wootton, an environmental environ-mental health scientist for TriCounty Tri-County Health, said, "A lot of people have questions about lead exposure so TriCounty Health wants to help. We want to know what percentage of affected toys are out there. The government does little to regulate the toys coming into the US and they have no idea how many toys out there may have problems. So we want to get a handle on it." According to the Centers for Disease Control Web site( www. cdc.gov) lead may be found in Our Ads are worth the time in the... Express 54 North Vernal Avenue Vernal, Utah -435-789-3511 www.vernal.com 1111 WIRELESS PCS DIGITAL SERVICE www.uhta-ubrtjvm 8oo-9X&-CKLL "UDOT consultants came out and we had three focus groups with area residents who use public pub-lic transportation," Gilbert said. "We had a great turnout and we got a better idea of exactly what kind of need is out there." The Uintah Basin actually became a pilot project for the second phase of the UDOT transportation trans-portation study, which focuses on ways to develop alternative, sustainable resources to fund public transit. Gilbert said the . committee won't have a list of recommendations recommen-dations and a plan to implement those recommendations until the- study has officially been cbmpleted. Even though they are months from that point, Gilbert said the committee already has some goals in mind. At spme point, officials would love to see Greyhound service to the Wasatch Front re-established. Gilbert said he thinks most of our area's transit needs could be met by offering two or three round-trips daily between Vernal and smaller towns like Duchesne and Myton. Once these fixed routes have been established, smaller vehicles or taxi services could be used to meet the needs of people who occasionally oc-casionally need to be somewhere at a specific place and time, for a doctor's appointment or similar engagement. "I'm optimistic that we're going to see some improvements to our public transportation because be-cause we already have the system and the foundation in place," Gilbert said. "As a community, we're becoming more and more connected all the time. We're going to start small and do all we can to build on that." toys in two ways: through paint or plastic. Lead was banned from use on products marketed to children in the United States in 1978; however, it can still be found on imported toys because it is widely used in other countries. Lead may also be present on older toys made in the United States before 1978. The use of lead in plastics has not been banned in the United States and is sometimes used in plastic toys to stabilize molecules from heat. A child can be exposed tfye.Jead, hi plastjq toys when the chemical bond in the plastic breaks down and forms a dust. This results from exposure to substances like sunlight or detergents. de-tergents. Children become exposed to the lead in toys through normal hand-to-mouth activity; often placing toys, fingers, and other objects in their mouth and therefore there-fore exposing themselves to the lead paint or dust. Lead is invisible and has no smell and lead testing must be done by a certified lab technician. techni-cian. The Department of Health and Human Services does not consider do-it-yourself kits to be reliable. If you suspect your child has been exposed to lead remove the source immediately. Most children with an elevated level of lead in their blood show no symptoms and the only way to tell if they have been exposed is to have a blood test done by a health care professional. Ahealth care provider can recommend treatment if a child has been exposed. To see photos and descriptions of recalled toys visit www.cpsc. gov or call 1-800-638-2772 for more information. Corrections Uintah Basin Medical Center Veteran's Liaison Kay Ridley has lived in the Uintah Basin for 22 years. She is married to Bob Ridley and has four children. An article in last week's Vernal Express reported otherwise. Vernal City contributed $5,000 to Roosevelt City's legal fight against State Engineer J erry Olds. A chart in last week's Vernal Express stated the incorrect incor-rect amount. j' . 9 . 1 V a I .1- -a . 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