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Show Wednesday, July 2, 2008 B5 4 -.V r . txt - I j Vernal Express ft, i - r Is L- .A k-UV Lapoint Grand Marshals Merle Horrocks and Ervin and Marion Young will be honored at the Lapoint Independence Day celebration. On July 4, celebrations begin at 6 a.m. on top of Lapoint Hill with a sunrise rifle salute and flag ceremony. Lapoint selects July 4 grand marshals Independence Day celebrations celebra-tions in Lapoint on July 4 will honor Grand Marshals Merle Horrocks along with Ervin and Marion Young. Lifelong resident, Merle Jenkins Horrocks, 88, was born in Lapoint on March 23, 1920 to Frank and Mable Norton Jenkins. He's gone from the horse and buggy to jets to the Internet. Growingup in Lapoint.young people would pay Al Daniels 25 ' cents to drive them to the Victory Park dances. On one dance night Merle was introduced to Delbert his future wife. "It was love at first sight," said Merle. "We were married Nov. 12, 1937 and were parents of five boys and three girl. I've been a widow for 27 years and never thought I'd see the day Hatch, Conrad Senator Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, and Senator Kent Conrad, D-N.D., D-N.D., on Thursday introduced legislation to expand the use of clean coal technology in Utah, North Dakota and across the nation, a move the senators say will help put the country on a path to energy independence. Hatch and Conrad unveiled the Carbon Reduction Technology Technol-ogy Bridge Act of 2008, which would create tax incentives to encourage private research into clean, coal technology. ''Many have called for U.S. leadership in reducing greenhouse green-house gas emissions," Hatch said in a jointly -issued press release. "The first step is to lead the world in the technology to manage our USU agent Many real estate professionals profession-als say it is a good time to buy since home prices are down, but in the wake of the foreclosure crisis, it is important to take a hard look at the numbers to be sure a mortgage payment won't cause financial hardship. Lending standards are currently cur-rently tighter than they have been, which is a good thing, according to Ann House, the Utah State University Extension Exten-sion bankruptcy prevention area agent for Salt Lake County. With tighter standards, buyers are less likely to get into a home they cannot afford. "If you want to buy now, first check your credit score," House said. "If your FICO score is 720 or above, you can get a lower interest rate on a loan. If your credit needs improvement, go to www.ftc.gov and find out how to rebuild it. The difference you will pay with a good score and a lower interest rate will be thousands, and possibly hundreds of thousands thou-sands of dollars over the course of the loan." For those who rent, there's a good chance a mortgage payment won't be much more than rent in many areas, House said. Add in the tax break, and if a buyer stays a few years, the home will start to appreciate in value. House said home prices in much of the country have already dropped by 10 percent and will probably keep dropping, but as with the stock market, there's no way to know when the market is going to hit the bottom. If a buyer's dream home is on the market, now may be a good time to purchase it. "Another pro to buy ing is that a home can potentially yield cash at retirement through downsizing, downsiz-ing, relocating to a less expensive place or through investing the cash," House said. Before jumping into the world of homeownership, there are downsides to be aware of, she warned. With traditional pensions disappearing and with the debt burdens most people are carrying, it is increasingly difficult for people to save for retirement. Quickly rising costs of food, gasoline and utilities are also taking their toll on consumers. consum-ers. If there is much uncertainty when I would be grand marshal. Thank you." Grand Marshals Ervin and Marion Young have been married for 56 years. They were wed on June 16, 1952 in the Salt Lake LDS Temple. They met at Alterra High School and have lived in the Basin all their fives. They raised five sons and three daughters. Erv was born on Nov. 14, 1931 to John D. and Mary Neilson Young in Ouray Valley in a log cabin. Marion was born on March 11, 1932 in Lapoint to Rulon and Mamie Rasmussen. Together that have owned five different ranches in the Uintah Basin. Erv said for 20 years he painted houses to "support the cows." April 14, 2006, they sold everything ev-erything except for their Mosby seek to expand coal's use carbon emissions." . Hatch said he and Conrad are seeking to put the nation in a leadership role when it comes to reducing its carbon footprint in the electricity sector. "This bill will provide strong tax incentives to the electricity industry to demonstrate and use advanced technologies to capture and then sequester carbon emissions," emis-sions," he said. Conrad noted that the nation is in the midst of "energy and environmental crises." "Not only must we make every ev-ery effort to develop and utilize domestic sources of energy," he said, "we must also ensure we are protecting our environment by limiting the carbon we emit. offers mortgage advice in life, now may not be the best time to purchase a home. For those who own a home, now may be a good time to consider con-sider refinancing, House said. This can lower the monthly payment, reduce the length of the loan and save money in the long run. In determining whether this is a good option, House said homeowners should first decide how long it will take to break even on a mortgage refinance. This will depend on the current interest rate, the new potential rate, dosing costs and how long a homeowner plans to stay in the home. If refinancing will save, for example, $50 per month on a mortgage payment, and the closing costs come to $4,000, it will take over six years to recover the cost of refinancing. "A general guideline is to consider refinancing a mortgage when the current interest rates are at least 2 or more percentage points below what you are currently cur-rently paying," House said. She said charges for refinancing refinanc-ing are usually between 3 and 6 percent of the total amount of the mortgage and that certain types of refinancing options contain penalties for early payments as well as closing and transaction fees. "Make sure to do your math, as in some cases these extra fees may offset any savings through the refinanced loan," House said. If the home's value has increased, in-creased, there is an option of refinancing more than the value of the current mortgage, she said. The home's equity may be used for home improvements or other allowable expenses such as . education, medical expenses or to cover closing costs of the refinance. refi-nance. However, it is important to use caution when doing this since years will be added to the loan, more debt can be incurred and the home will not be building value if money is drained from its equity. "If you can do it, a smart option op-tion is to refinance your mortgage for a shorter time period," I louse said. "Although the payments will be somewhut higher, you will pay less interest over the life of Mountain home. This spring, Erv got homesick ("in his head," says Marion) and bought 28 head of cattle. "Thank goodness,- it's rained," Erv says. On the Mosby Mountain road there's a sign that reads Paradise Cove, to which Erv adds, "We're happy and hope to finish our lives here. Stop in an say hello." Lapoint's celebrations begin on July 3 at 7 p.m. at the park pavilion with a patriots program. Admission is one watermelon. On July 4, celebrations begin at 6 a.m. on top of Lapoint Hill with a sunrise rifle salute and flag ceremony. The 9 a.m. flag ceremony will take place along with the pledge at the pavilion in the park. The Fourth of July parade with grand marshals will begin at 10 a.m. followed by fun, dances and lunch. This legislation helps make coal a viable, clean and domestic energy en-ergy source while taking needed steps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions." Incentives to fine-tune the carbon sequestration process are particularly important, Conrad added, as the nation moves toward to-ward energy independence while addressing the impact of global climate change. Coal is used to generate roughly half of all electricity produced in the United States. the loan. This will build equity ' more quickly and will save money in the long run." House said another option is to renegotiate the mortgage rate with the lender. Renegotiating a mortgage is technically not refinancing, but is an amendment amend-ment to the existing mortgage. Although the interest rate may not be as low as the current refinancing rate, renegotiating can save money because there are no closing costs. "We are currently experiencing experienc-ing a market correction to years of over-inflated home costs," House said. "Home prices are more realistic and lenders aren't as willing to loan out more than can be realistically re-paid." ; 1 L . I f mi rjii i ii g i in if f ,n-iiii.i 4 1 1 ' a ft I I I 1 Lit i f i I I I If T . I LPa ZZTZZ-.. J tSX ZAJLK tiXU MVi4w W it It r . m I r i : wv: ' ..- momns mmmmm GOOD CREDIT BAD CRLDIT NO CREDIT. GET APPROVED NOW APPLY ONLINE AT WWW.SALTLAKEVALLEYGMC.COM Wheel lines like this one in Maeser are a common sight on fields of hay and other crops in the Ashley Valley. What is it about initiation? By Ryan Alien Express Writer Irrigation is an important part of what happens in the Ashley Valley. Water rights have been passed down from one generation to the next and for some are considered con-sidered even more valuable than the land where the water is used. And is doesn't take long to find an irrigation system watering a field. But how does irrigation actually work? Irrigation is one of the oldest technologies around. There have been discoveries made to believe irrigation goes all the way back to Mesopotamia and Egypt several thousand years ago. On a more current global scale, about 689 million acres of land were equipped to be irrigated ir-rigated as of the turn of the millennium. mil-lennium. Of that, 17 percent is in the U.S., showingthe role that irrigation plays in the nation's economy. RADIATIOM Tricounty Health Department's Radiation Vacation Van service has expanded service to include transportation to any of the medical treatment facilities at the University of Utah such as the Moran Eye Center, Primary Children's Hospital, Huntsman Cancer Institute, Utah Diabetes Center, etc. Any individual seeking transportation to the University of Utah for medical treatment should call Natalie Feltch, Tricounty Health Department at 781-5468 781-5468 or 1-866-275-0246 to make arrangements. Parents will recieve y a Hkr.ni intaH rats when ririinn with rmArsi m-rv C pediatric patients. ' tut ir yrnw; available on ill til Sierra Yukons, Dcnalis and Canyons- 0AC Excl. Hybrid SALT; LAKE VALLEY "'i r ww l U Wk Ark Professional. Grade 725 W. 3300 S. 1 The same rings true locally. Irrigation is one of the wheels of the area's agricultural economy. Without irrigation water, farmers farm-ers and ranchers in the area would be unable to grow much on rainfall alone. "Irrigation brings outside dollars into the community to become be-come recycled into the economic system," said Larris Hunting, river commissioner for Ashley Water Users. He explained that part of his job is to make sure all water is regulated and distributed to the right places. But from the river to the field, there are many more players who guide irrigation water distribution. distribu-tion. Ditch riders, lateral bosses and river commissioners and others work together to ensure that every user get their entitled share. "Ditch masters try to distribute dis-tribute the water to shareholders in a fashionable manner so water is divided equally among the i niuuun ii HEALTH DEPARTMENT ' a 54 North Vernal Avenue Vernal, Utah -435-789-3511 Ciornc i V U ILL-:! 1-877-257-9265 shareholders," said Mark Kettle of Dry Gulch Irrigation Co. The call system used locally organizes users in a hierarchy. Water users need to call the person per-son above them to receive their share. Those people who govern water usage for a specific ditch have the job of notifying people when they can and can't take water to use. "Our system is so different from some with so many sources of water," said Myrna Murray of Ashley Water Users. She continued contin-ued to explain that lateral bosses and other ditch operators play a key role. Overall, users agree on water shares and the system hums along without conflict. But when conflicts arise, it's generally when there isn't sufficient water in the canals or sufficient capacity capac-ity in the canals to supply the water to the users. But barring a drought, those concerns can be fixed usually within a few hours with a couple phone calls. p , ," " 1 . , "W F BUSINESS f |