OCR Text |
Show Wednesday, October 29, 2008 Vernal Express US geologists uncover 'dinosaur dance floor5 1$ i -A ... B4 By Mike Stark Associated Press SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - Geologists Ge-ologists say they have discovered prehistoric animal tracks so densely packed on a 34-acre site that they're calling it a "dinosaur dance floor." The site along the Arizona-Utah Arizona-Utah state line offers a rich new set of clues about the lives of dinosaurs 190 million years ago. Back then, large stretches of the West were a Sahara-like desert. More than 1,000 tracks were found in what would have been a watery oasis nestled among towering, wind-whipped sand dunes. The footprints could provide fodder for researchers trying to understand dinosaurs that survived sur-vived in what many considered a "vast, dry, uninhabitable desert," said Marjorie Chan, professor of geology at the University of Utah and one of the authors of a new study of the site. "Maybe it really wasn't as lifeless as we think," Chan said last Monday. The discovery adds yet another an-other site to the region's long list of dinosaur hot spots. The difference, though, is sheer numbers. num-bers. Scientists estimate there are more than 1,000 tracks at the site, which is in a protected area of Vermilion Cliffs National Monument. In some places, there are a dozen footprints in a square yard. "It was a place that attracted a crowd, kind of like a dance floor, " Chan said. Researchers identified four different kinds of tracks in the rock but haven't determined the specific species that left them behind. Some of the footprints - once thought to be potholes formed by erosion - measure 16 inches Time is ticking Call 801-975-7781 and get pre-approved over the phone Clayton Homes 3768 So Redwood Rd West Valley Utah Fax: 801-975-7782 Phone: 801-975-7781 fa. fife J w ... Ml fc.. I I " i I ; .'V 1 I f I across and have three toes and a heel. Others are smaller and more circular. The area also includes what researchers think are rare tail drag marks. Winston Seiler, who studied the site for a master's thesis, said the area might have been a popular gathering spot for adults and youngsters alike. It could have been one of many where Early Jurassic dinosaurs stopped for refreshment before moving along. Seiler imagines dinosaurs were "happy to be at this place, having wandered up and down many a sand dune, exhausted from the heat and the blowing sand, relieved and happy to come to a place where there was water." The study's findings were published in the October issue of the journal Palaios. "It's an exciting site and deserving of a lot more work," said Jim Kirkland, Utah's state paleontologist, who was not involved with the study. He hopes paleontologists begin a large-scale survey of the site to better understand what's there and what stories the tracks might tell. Dinosaur tracks can provide important insight about dinosaur behavior and movements across the landscape, said Andrew Milner, paleontologist at the St. George Dinosaur Discovery Site at Johnson Farm in southwestern southwest-ern Utah. The newly discovered site, about three miles from the nearest road, is part of a protected pro-tected wilderness area that also includes a geologic formation called "The Wave" - a gallery of striped, twisted sandstone. Twenty permits are issued each day to enter the area. Linda Price, the monument's manager, expects interest in the area will jump with word of the dinosaur track site. When "Good Job" needs to be said... X Say it on : the Vernal Express Crrry tog -f JHIA.J1X W Page! l ' tii. t . . Mr if 1 -"TV ' Vi ft a eft, ii ' III UK VlUJtilfe SJ t -. ,. .. . ; . Uintah County commissioners Mike McKee, Darlene Burns and Dave riasiem arejoineu w.u, m p"'y of the Uintah Gate Centre. Among the celebrants are Roger Brinkerhoff, John Skinner and Bill Young. 1Ma.?d: USU Uintah Basin Extension, Ken Bassett and Cal Dee Reynolds; Vernal City, Matt Cazier -anc I Marsha ' .XPr rST Parker; city planner, Ryan Mott; Coldwell Banker Realtor and Brandon Fugal and Lance Pendleton, Coldwell Banker Commercial. Not pictured are agents Troy Hardy and Joshua Barrett. Uintah Gateway Centre breaks ground The Uintah Gateway Centre, the premier mixed-use development, develop-ment, in Uintah County, held a groundbreaking ceremony Oct. 23. "We are pleased that they have chosen Uintah County," said Darlene Burns, Uintah County Commissioner. "We as County Commissioners share in your excitement." Eagle View Fourth grade students in Brycie IClein's class at Eagle View Elementary School in Fort Duchesne submitted these acrostics about bats to the Uintah Basin Standard just in time for Halloween. An acrostic is a poem or other writing in an alphabetic script, in which the first letter, syllable or word of each line, paragraph or other recurring feature in the text spells out another message: in this cast BATS or BAT. . Betty Bat is very scary And Batty Bat is very bad They are pretty scary. Spooky. The bat is very cool. - Talon Tohtsoni Bats eat insects And eat ants Tinkle Sleep - Melvin Cesspooch Batty bats eat little bugs And fly any time. They dig in wood. - McKinley LaRose Big bats are being bad At the movie theater Terrorizing other people. f hanh yon support! sen a privilege representing the people of Uintah County In the State Legislature. Vote John Mathis EHsfficiSS Utah House of Representatives Paid Political Ad jLmm' i ill I nfl LJJ Lb L Bill Young, along with partners part-ners in development, Roger Brinkerhoff and John Skinner, said, "This is a huge undertaking in the city of Vernal, and a project like this is desperately needed in the area. We expect people from all over Uintah County and beyond to take full advantage of the services that will be offered students - Daelen Serawop Batty bats in the air. Are flying all around Trying to eat food So scary! - Ashtin Harty Bats are very cool. A bat is taking a bath. Trouble maker! Scary! - Kaden Labrum Big, bad, brutal bats. Are they around; bit bats? The trick-or-treater's trickery, So scary, scary, scary! - Courtney Kettle Bats in the bubble bath. A ball. Tear off of tall towers. Silly! Scary! - Justin Riley Bad bats fly at night At night bats hunt. The bad bat flies far for its food. - Nichole Gerber Bats live in a cave A bat flies at night That they eat shaeke. I or yonir It has r. v x y? . ... l ...uu ntknrp fnr tho Hpt 9 firm inrlhraoHnrt here." Young went to say that the "project is beingbuilt on 80 acres between 1500 and 2000 North Vernal Avenue and will include over 300,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space." Included in the Uintah Gateway Gate-way Centre will be four hotels, big-box and mid-box retailers, 'batty' about poetry Scary! Very scary! - Author unknown Bats bite And they suck blood! That is so scary! - Calvin YellowHorse Bad bats in their cave. They Are black. They have wings. ANF plans prescribed fire for Flaming Gorge district The Flaming Gorge Ranger District will be conducting prescribed fire in November on about 1,500 acres in sage brush, ponderosa pine and aspen in the Honslinger Unit, located about one mile east of the Ute Tower Fire Lookout. Rowdy Muir, fire management officer for the district, said the U.S. Forest Service is using the prescribed fires to reduce the chances of having high intensity wildfires, to create defensible fuel breaks, and to restore the area to a more natural habitat condition. "These actions will help reduce the chances of incurring incur-ring damage to the natural and Lawmaker proposes $88M tuition credit OREM (AP) - Ren. John Dougall is proposing an $88 million mil-lion tuition credit to subsidize students' higher education and keep them in state after gradu- atlOIl. The Highland Republican says his bill would allow students to deduct the cost of tuition and SPECIALIZING IN COSMETIC AND RECONSTRUCTIVE SURGERY OF THE EYELIDS & FACE Nationally and Internationally Renowned Surgeons John D. McCann, m.d. Richard L. Anderson, m.d. Board Certified Board Certified Named "Best Doctors In America", VIP Member of Who's Who Among Physicians, Founder of UCLA Aesthetic Center, 1 user of Botox In the Intermountaln Region. TWO CONVENIENT LOCATIONS bandy at Jordan Commons Downtown Salt Lake City Eyelid and Facial Rejuvenation Botox Inlprtinnc - . . Eve Lift? ----- -v m Call today Face Lifts 1 IJirflUJ!?1 t injection (Botox, Juvederm, Radiessc) ,4 administered by a board certified nhvsician Call toll free: 1-877-844-3223 www.centerforfacialappearances.com t , 1 U 40,000 square feet of Uintah Professional Plaza office park and an 8-plex-movie theatre. Phase one of the project, the first retail and office buildings, are scheduled for completion in late spring or summer of 2009. The Gateway Centre development devel-opment is represented for sale and lease by Coldwell Banker Commercial, NRT. The bats come out on Halloween. Hallow-een. Scary! - Reamber Curry Bats are cool. They are scary. Bats kill mice. And bats are so scary! Terrible bats are cool. Scary bats are freaky! - Matthew Gardner cultural resources of the area," Muir said in a press release. "The exact start date of this project will depend upon the weather and is expected t&begin in early November, Novem-ber, if conditions are right." The boundary of the Honslinger Hon-slinger Unit begins at the intersection inter-section of forest roads 628 and 539 just north of Lost Spring and runs southwest along forest for-est road 628 to the point above Carter Creek. Theboundary then runs down the ridge to the north bank of Carter Creek and then northeast along Carter Creek to Honslinger Creek, then north along Honslinger Creek and forest for-est road 539 to the beginning at the intersection of forest roads 628 and 539. mandatory fees from their state income tax. Dougall presented his bill to the Utah Board ot Regents rn- day. He says his goal is to help BhiHontcnav fnr tVlpir school, but not to rive parents a tax break. The bill would only apply to students at Utah's public universities univer-sities and colleges. Center for Facia Appearances r-orenpan ann Hmvj I nt Chemical and Laser Peels Fillers for Face and Lips and receive 15 off vnur cosmetic |