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Show SatSunMonTues, May 15-18, 2004 The Park Record A-7 "Wesfs oil SALT LAKE CITY (AP) High fuel prices are renewing . speculation that oil could be extracted from shale deposits in Utah, Colorado and Wyoming. Oil prices peaked at a 13-year high Wednesday, with the Energy Department reporting it at $40.77 a barrel. "You guys could be a hot little number again soon," said Larry Nation of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists, referring to the oil shale deposits. Still, he added: "We're certainly cer-tainly going to have to pay for it. The infrastructure doesn't pop up overnight." The oil can be recovered only when rock is heated to high temperatures. tem-peratures. Some experts say the technol Bush nominates Utah lawyer WASHINGTON (AP) A Utah lawyer is President Bush's pick for the appeals court opening open-ing that Democratic senators blocked Hispanic lawyer Miguel Estrada from getting last year. Thomas Griffith, a former general gen-eral counsel for the Senate, was nominated for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Estrada withdrew with-drew after Democrats stalled his confirmation, contending he lacked judicial experience and refused to provide background information they sought. Griffith, general counsel for Insurance MIDVALE, Utah (AP) After a lot of red tape, Briana Lane has her skull back in one piece. The 22-year-old woman was injured in an auto accident in January, and doctors temporarily removed nearly half her skull to save her life. But for nearly four months afterward, the piece of bone lay in a hospital freezer across town and Lane had to wear a plastic street hockey helmet because of a standoff with Medicaid and the hospital over who would cover the surgery to make her whole again. The surgery finally came through after an excruciating wait, during which she suffered extreme pain just bending down and would'wake up in the morning morn-ing to find that her brain had shifted to one side during the night. . "When you think of weird things happening to people you don't think of that," Lane said. "It's like taking out someone's heart you need that!" ' ; Sonya Schwartz, a health policy poli-cy analyst for Families USA, a consumer health care group, said insurance horror stories happen every day. But "this particular story is outlandish." On Jan. 10. Lane's car rolled over on an icy canyon road above Salt Lake City. Lane, who was not wearing a seat belt, was thrown through the windshield. (She was later charged with driving driv-ing under the influence and not having a driver's license.) Doctors at the University of Utah Health Sciences Center in Salt Lake City removed the left side of her skull to treat bleeding on her brain. Lane's doctor originally origi-nally scheduled the replacement surgery for mid-March, a month after her release from the hospital, hospi-tal, said her mother, Margaret McKinney, a nurse who works in m -htX c , $111 y f iv' fiiiVv. h ' : f LOO. . 1 1 ' shale gains interest ogy remains too expensive and the prospects are too risky when oil prices, while increasing, are still volatile. "No one is going to invest in the infrastructure necessary when the oil price could collapse to $10 a barrel," said David Deming, associate professor of geosciences at the University of Oklahoma. "There are still bitter memories." During OPEC's 1973 oil embargo, there was a rush to find new fuel sources. Shale oil, tar sands, coal liquefaction all were considered. Oil companies invested millions mil-lions of dollars to develop shale oil in the Green River Formation of Utah, Wyoming and Colorado, which is estimated to contain 1.5 trillion barrels of oil, according Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, was a partner in the Washington law firm of Wiley, Rein and Fielding before joining BYU. He was the Senate's chief lawyer from 1995-99. It is not immediately known whe,n the Senate Judiciary Committee, which is run by GOP Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah, will hold a hearing on the nomination announced Monday. The 12-member appeals court decides important government cases involving separation of powers, the role of the federal government, the responsibilities snag creates holes another division of the medical center. But the operation was canceled can-celed the night before because the hospital was waiting to see whether Medicaid would cover it a process that can take at least 90 days. Lane, a waitress with no insurance, insur-ance, was sent home from the hospital with a big dent in her head where the bone had been removed but the scalp had been sewn back into place. She stayed at home, able to walk around but not go to work, and had to wear the helmet during the day. During the wait for a decision from Medicaid, the hospital could have declared an emergency, emer-gency, moved ahead with the sur- . gery, and figured out afterward who would pay the hospital, Medicaid, or the patient. But the hospital did not do so. Lane's mother said that she argued with the hospital: "We just want what you've taken away. Can you just give us back the skull and we'll go on with our lives?" After months of delay, Lane contacted a local TV station, a move she believes hastened the surgery. "All of a sudden top of the list!" she said. The operation opera-tion took place April 30. Exactly what broke the impasse is unclear. The operation took place after Lane's mother's insurance decided decid-ed to cover the surgery, as well as her nearly $200,000 in medical bills. But hospital spokeswoman Anne Brillinger, while refusing to comment on certain specifics of Lane's case because of federal privacy rules, said the medical center decided to go forward with the surgery before it learned the insurance would pay. Utah's Medicaid program has yet to decide whether Lane qualr :S f LJr& CALEDONIAN BUILDING to the American Association of Petroleum Geologists. But speculators trying to exploit the resources lost millions of dollars when nothing came of the projects. A recent report from the Energy Department blamed shale oil's downfall on "price uncertainty and immature technology." Nation said shale oil development develop-ment will occur only when the price of producing shale oil is comparable to that of crude oil. The infrastructure needed to mine shale oil is expensive, and the price of oil must be sustainable sustain-able to attract investors, he said. John McLemore, a spokesman for ConocoPhillips, said. "We don't have anything going on there (with shale oil), but we're, not ruling out the possibility." of federal officials and the authority of federal agencies. Estrada withdrew from consideration consid-eration after his nomination could not get the 60 votes in the Senate to end a filibuster. A second nominee for this court, California judge Janice Rogers Brown, is being blocked by the sharply divided Senate. A third nominee, Brett Kavanaugh, is waiting on a Judiciary Committee vote. Only one judge, John Roberts, has won approval from the Senate for that court during Bush's presidency. ifies. Robert Knudson, director of eligibility services at the Utah Health Department, which oversees over-sees Medicaid, said the agency has not yet seen enough evidence to decide whether her injuries entitle her to benefits under the law. He would not ; comment on whether her four-month wait was unreasonable. But; he said the decision over how fast Lane should have gotten treatment was up to the doctors, not Medicaid. "We only pay the bills," he said. A neurosurgeon at Indianapolis' St. Vincent Hospital, Ronald Young, said such surgery wouldn'cW sidered an emergency, but is typically typ-ically performed within three to four weeks the swelling has to go down first because1, the risks to the patient are high. V "There's no reason not to replace that as soon as you can," Young said. "I dont like to have people who are walking not have their skull." He added: "For a person who is walking, who is ambulatory, to not have their skull is a problem because you get a lot of brain shift. A simple fall, hitting her head or something could be horrendous." hor-rendous." Today, Lane's close-cropped hair barely covers the long curved scar on her scalp. The blackouts and dizziness are happening hap-pening less often, and simple tasks are no longer excruciatingly painfuh But she said the experience has left her a little more cynical about the health care system. "Just because they don't have money doesn't mean they should be treated differently from anyone any-one else," she said. "I'm a good person. I just happen to be not as rich as some of them." v: c . . . . i.cfffA .r i'.r. r . v I . ; J 4 1 f 1 mi 3 An IF On Sale PJay 15th - 11am Tickotc ON SALE at all Smith's Tix Outlotc, chargo by phono: 4G7-TIKK, 1-000-000-TIXX, purchaso on lino at vivv.smithstix.com and at Door Valloy Signaturo Storoo J J V 7 C-ii V , - A - s s f . .4 : 0 My . ...j (r) DEER VALLEY RESORT IliSiiSI UNITED CONCERTS 4 t - 4 iff. w |