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Show 'mi if Page A2 0 Thursday, Sept. 15, 1994 The Park Record D Section A WO' ) County fires under control; bills to pay continued from A1 Sept. 4 and was still smoking a week later. Jablonski said the cause of that fire, which forced temporary evacuation of about 100 residents near Wanship, was definitely man-caused and is still under investigation. All three fires occurred on private land which means the suppression costs will largely end up in Summit County's lap. According to Jablonski, the fire fighting efforts definitely exceeded the county's annual Future gravel pits may face greater scrutiny continued from A1 however, Kamas resident Frances Remillard said she and many of her neighbors were in favor of the tighter regulations. Noting that rock crushers were already in the conditional use category she said, "I've talked to the State Division of Environmental Quality and they don't see any difference between a crusher and a quarry. In fact, they say a quarry can have a greater impact." Summit County Community Development Director Bruce Parker was quick to point out the new ordinance would not in any way prohibit new operations but would allow for more public ACT scores increase steadily in continued from A1 any given year. Referring to a report recently released by the Utah Foundation which reflected lower Safford Test scores for Park City students in 1993 than in previous years, Fielder pointed out that looking at the results from one or two years does not accurately reflect a trend. "What you get is an anomaly. It is not a true reflection of how our students are doing." More good news for the district came when Gleason read the recommendations the American College Testing Program put forth for students to be successful in taking the test. The recommendations include three DWR kills black bear that attacked camper continued from A1 from the Wyoming Fish and Game : Department and the Interagency Grizzly Committee, : which is made up of biologists who study grizzlies. They were all in agreement that the bear's behavior was strictly defensive. "There are three occasions when a bear will attack humans: protecting their young, defending their food source and when they are surprised. This incident could have been all three," said Olson, adding that grizzlies have been listed as threatened under, the Endangered Species Act sirfce 1975. . The bear involved in the Kamas attack was a black bear, which Black well described as a "renewable resource." It is not listed as endangered or threatened, Blackwell said tracking and killing a bear that attacked a human being is typical of DWR policy. "In Utah there are 800 to 1,000 black bears" Blackwell said. TThe first time they come into a campground and bother people, we tranquilize them and move them to another area. We give them one chance, but if they come back, even if they don't actually attack anyone, they will be put down because they have proven they are not afraid of people and have become a dangerous threat You have to understand, they have two- to three-inch claws and one- to two-inch fangs and are strong eriough to drag a deer up a mountainside. "We cannot take them, to a place far from human habitation because black bears have a home range as big as 200 miles. There's nowhere in Utah that's 200 miles from human habitation," 1 wildland fire budget of $55,000 "in a big way." The overages, he said, will be picked up in part by the state but at least 50 percent of that amount will be billed to the county. Although the total cost of containing the three fires had not yet been tallied, Jablonski estimated the county may be facing bills in excess of another $50,000 over the existing budget. Until this month, Summit County had nearly escaped the wildfires which have plagued the rest of the west this summer. review of the applications. Only four of the seven commissioners were at Tuesday's meeting but all four voted in favor of recommending the change to the County Commission which will make the final decision. Commissioner Terry Wieser said, "We are just saying when something has such a big impact on the surrounding area we need to allow public comment." Until the final determination is made, however, any new gravel pit or quarry applications will be subject to the previously enacted temporary zoning regulation which placed them in the conditional use process. Park City years of math and four years of English for a four-year high school. The district presently requires students to take classes that equal or exceed the ACT Program's recommendations. Most college admissions boards take into account a student's test score as well as hisher high school grade point average. "If a student applies to a school with a 3.9 GPA, they are more likely to be accepted with a lower test score," Gleason said. "While we are pleased with the progress our students are making," Fielder said, "We realize that there is room for improvement and we should strive to that end." Blackwell added that he docs not expect many more bear attacks before the beginning of winter. He said a s likely there were several in August because grasses the bears usually eat went rank before the berries were ready, due to dry whether this year. M bear is almost as much of a grazer as a cow. They'll eat anything' -Boyd Blackwell, Division of Wildlife Resources "A bear is almost as much of a grazer as a cow," Blackwell said. "They'll eat anything. Although black bears feed noctumally, if they find a good patch of food, they'll feed for up to 20 hours at a stretch. They hibernate from November to March or April and must put on four inches of fat to be able to do that." Blackwell advises campers, hikers and hunters to pick up a copy of the DWR pamphlet "Safety in Cougar and Bear Country" before heading out into the back country. The pamphlet advises people to keep themselves and their campsites scrupulously clean and to change their clothes and wash frequently. Food should be hung between two trees 12 to 15 feet high. Hikers should wear a bell and make noise as they walk to avoid surprising a bear into an attack I sv' ci" v. "L'-f J.i-.- 1 11 A'' f done' (almost) Ortori and Hatch of their pro-mining position by DIANA HINGSTON Record staff writer The Utah Mining Association held its annual convention in Park City Sept. 11. The association invited Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah and Rep. Bill Orton, D-Utah to give their views on the mining industry. Orton gave what he called the political background behind a bill under current consideration. "The bill, RS24477, is another attempt to regulate access to federal lands by mining interests," said Orton. "Our original thought was to transfer lands to the private sector, but we have changed our minds. In 1976 when Congress passed the Federal Land Policy Management Act, rights of way were retained through Class D roads. Now people are trying to close those roads with the thought that if you close the roads, you can't develop the resources. "Why we're seeing this used as a chief tool to prevent the development of resources is because the mining and resource industries have developed a bad public image. There are too many examples on "Sixty Minutes" like the company with a silica patent that bought sand on acreage in Nevada for $2 an acre and turned around and sold it to a developer for $50,000 an acre," commiserated Orton. He said the main problem was that most of the politicians voting on these bills "have scenes in their minds, planted by radical environmentalists, of the wilderness all looking like a (V ' " f - ..m ' ; .... . , . m 5 .... .,- Eye on r" ; ' """" UDOT officials say State Road 224 is "95 percent done." Although Park City residents may feel like celebrating, UDOT has not given any thought to a ribbon-cutting ceremony as of yet. However, it should be completely complete any day now.... f . . ....... .--,,." " 1 ' vh- ;v- """ """" foil ' V 1 1 UM r j f" 1 I ; .! t J'i;' j ' t ' " I ' ' 1 Rep. Bill Orton, D-Utah, spoke to the Utah Mining Association on Sept. 11 national park and they have to spend lots of money to prevent it from looking like downtown Manhattan. "We have a problem in this country in that more people work for the government than in manufacturing. You can't have a growing economy when you have more people regulating business than working in it "I realize I'm probably preaching to the choir here. Most people don't know, for example. - ..i'A v : - 3m" '" . I Park City assure Utah miners 1 that every man, woman and child in this country uses 20 pounds of copper every year. We have to educate the public as to the impact of their decisions. Luckily there are people in Washington who have the technical education to understand the situation and can argue your case," Orton said. Orton had good news for his audience who are hoping for passage of the pro-mining bill because he said the political climate is changing. fH'. r- : , r I: , - j ; 3 1 3 ' ' 1 photo by Dick Griffin Sept. 11 m m photo by Diana Kingston "It's not just Republicans who understand this issue," Orton said. "Most of the newly elected Democrats are center-right and more conservative than those that were elected in the 1960s and 1970s." Hatch spoke to the association an hour later. His remarks were also favorable to mining interests in the West. Keynote speaker for the convention was Robert Dimock, president of Kennecott Copper. Greased Lightning... Crandall Ford rolled out the classic cars as part of its grand opening last Saturday as it welcomed the T-Bird Club of Utah to a celebration that included an appearance by the regional manager of the Ford Corporation. photo by Donna Berger |