OCR Text |
Show 1 5 '6 7 8 9 Universal Microfilm Corpl Bex 2608 Salt Lake City, Ut, 84101 n THURSDAY, JAN. 16, 1975 HELPER, UTAH VOLUME 69 NUMBER 3 472-56- 10 Winter whips Helper Helper had to wait until January to get its' first real taste of winter for the season but when winter did finally arrive it did it in a big way with up to 24 inches of snow reported in Helper. The first of two heavy winter storms to hit the area in the last week swept through the evening of Monday, Jan. 6, leaving in its' wake approximately 12 inches of heavy, wet snow. Street crews were called out at about 2 a.m. Tuesday morning and by the time most Helper residents were up and about, Streets were relatively clear and passable. However, this storm was only a portent of things to come. An equally severe storm rumbled into the area early the next Wednesday morning and continued through the day. This time, snow removal was hampered by business activity and the general severity of the storm, as the many drivers of slipping and sliding cars on Helper's Main Street could attest. Most other city services slowed or stopped as all available manpower was pressed into removing snow from city streets. Helper city watermaster Kerry Neilsen reported that crews began working through 18 hour shifts from early Tuesday morning through Thursday morning in an attempt to keep up with the problem. He added that as many as five trucks and two loaders were in use at one 1 " 5s --- i mam'-- . pen. , in ..sb - i 1 i s. rfc'C v 1 ' --J HMO VJ time. However, crews ran into some problems as the transmission on Helper's backhoe and loader went out Wednesday with a broken shifting fork. Luckily, said Neilsen, Bob Olsen, with a little help from the machine shop at Utah Power and Light's Carbon Plant, was able to repair the transmission overnight. In the mean time, the city was able to secure the use of the loader that had formerly been owned by Castle Gate. Snow removal was also slowed by the need to dig three graves and clear roads at the city a if f. through the area last week dumped up to left streets icy for days. While, at times, this operation must have seemed like attempting to drain the ocean with a bucket, Helper snow removal crews did finally clear most of the snow from city streets. The two winter storms that swept 24 inches of snow in Helper and H-- Photo J Coal tax hike raises By Industrial Service director 1 ouncn promise d water help -- A ray of hope shined on solving Helper's and the couny's long range water problems last Thursday evening as Carl A. Ruscetta, area administrator for the University of Utah's Industrial Services Bureau appeared before the Helper City council and promised to to everything within his power to draw attention to the critical water situation in the area. Ruscetta, a native of Massachusetts, came before the council to offer his and his bureau's services to eligible residents of the area. He said the Industrial Services Bureau is mainly concerned with "working in the rural areas of the state in assisting in the formation of new business in these communities." He explained the bureau, which is funded by the Federal Economic Development Agency, offers it's experience and manpower to citizens interested in starting their own business. He said that courses in small business management, demographic surveys and marketing, to name a few, were all available to small businessmen. Ruscetta told the council that he recognized the critical need for funding for the Price River 88 Water Improvement District and promised to do all he could to bring that need to the attention of the "right" people. He mentioned that he is a personal friend of new Utah senator Jake Gam and said he would use this and other personal contacts to fulfill this promise. Waste treatment Mayor Chuck Ghirardelli presented the council with a resolution being passed among local governments in the area which, when signed, promises that city's assistance to the Southeastern Utah Association of Governments in planning and input for a waste treatment facility which is soon to be established within the county. This move comes as a result of a recent Environmental Protection Agency ruling requiring all waste treatment facilities to adopt land fill or other approved methods and curtail all open burning of trash. As no municipality in the area is large enough to support its' own land fill area, the job of providing such a facility has fallen to the county government. The council voted its' thanks to Fred Voll, Mary Jerant and Mrs. James Cochrane for their help in preparing for the Helper hosted Statehood Day recpition held Friday, Jan. 3. Councilwoman Mary Rebol, who with Ernest Gardner was placed in charge of the event, also presented the council with a bill of $183.69 for food at the event. A total of $30 was also voted by the council for remuneration for time spent by those preparing the food, bringing the total bill to $216.69, or as councilman Vince Bonza put it,". .the cheapest and best advertisement that Helper ever had". City recorder Yosh Amano gave the council good financial news as he reported that $13,356.99 had been added to the city coffers from state and federal sources. Amano told the council that a check of $7,631.99 had been received from the state to cover Helper's share of state sales tax and a check for $5,725.00 had been received from federal revenue sharing. Finally, Mayor Ghirardelli told the council that Thomas Magann, 41, had been added to the city payroll through funds received from the federal PEP program. Firemen open training center, meeting hall If you happened to be passing by the old building north of Helper's City Hall and noticed a number of different pieces of fire fighting equipment setting in the window, you may have wondered what is going on. What has happened is that Helper's firemen, with alot of sweat and a little money have converted the old structure into a fire department meeting house and training center. Helper Fire Chief Jim Pugliese said the building to fire was donated use former by department Mayor Chris Jouflas after the fire department had met and decided that a permanent meeting hall was needed because of the paneled walls, a tile floor, difficulty securing space at the civic auditorium when it was needed so often by the department. Pugliese said the firemen didn't really appreciate the amount of work involved in converting the former bar and cafe into a comfortable meeting place until they got into it. Wall and ceiling plaster was peeling off, the floor was sagging and needed to be replaced and the old coal furnace had given up the ghost. But, says Pugliese, mere is alot that 16 men with a mind to do so can do. And alot they did. In two months time the dilapidated old building has taken on a complete new look, with cemetery. At last Thursday's city council meeting, councilmen complimented snow removal crews on their hard work and asked city residents to be patient as crews are working to clean up the mess as fast as possible. been used for the badly comfortable furniture and a needed facility that was new gas furnace. "officially opened last week. Pugliese said the In all, said Pugliese, meeting hall will enable the almost $1,400 in fire department to regulary department funds have schedule the numerous n N f ) j? Iff , - meetings, training exer- cises, Red Cross presentations and films that the department formerly had to schedule on a hit and miss basis. A - , ' , J&Vv W land owner complaints o VQ mU- - one-ha- lf seven-hundredt- hike in the tax rate charged owners per ton of coal of between 29 percent to 2,900 percent times the former tax rate. These rate hikes applied to coal lands ranging from giant coal producers through small private operators down to lands where no mines had been established and coal was only presumed to be on the property. Utah law provides for four coal land classifications. Class A property is any land were an active coal mine exists and that is close to a railroad. Class B includes land not being presently mined but near other operating coal facilities and with easy access to railroad. Class C property contains operating mine facilities that are some distance from a railroad and finally Class D covers small mining properties that were only by road. "truck" mines. Ranching, grazing and farming lands where coal was presumed to be is also included under Class D classification. Before the new tax assessments were passed, class A facilities were charged 12 cents per ton of coal determined to be present on the property. That assessment was raised to 16 cents per ton under the new law. Class B properties, which were to two assessed between cents per ton (depending on accessibility to a railroad), were one-ha- : charged at a flat four cent rate. Class cent C rates changed from per ton to four cents a ton. Class D rates were formerly only of one cent per ton. They are now two cents per ton or nearly a 29 fold increase over last year's assessment. While hardly welcomed, this increase was not met with the opposition from coal operators that one might expect because it is fairly easy for them to raise the extra revenue by simply passing the increased costs along to consumers when they buy the coal. However, this was not the case for land owners who used their land for grazing, farming etc., but were charged a shockingly high tax rate when compared to last year's assessment. Because these tax notices are issued from each county treasurers office, one would expect a rush for the treasurer's office (if not his neck). But, according to Carbon County treasurer William Thomas, the rush never materialized. Thomas does acknowledge that he has received a few complaints - three to be exact. One from the Mathis brothers of Price, one from Tony Evatz of Spring Glen and one from the e Corp. from Salt Lake The Utah State Tax Commission, under the direction of the last legislature has reclassified all Utah coal lands to higher assessment valuations and a few owners of the mining rights to these lands in Carbon County are complaining - loud and long. The situation arose last year as legislators viewed the sudden jump in coal prices and decided it was time to reap a little of the wealth emerging from Utah's mines. The result was a Effective Feb. hs Kearns-Tribun- City. Of these cases, Thomas says one was settled when the State Tax Commission agreed to arbitrarily lower the rate charged to last years assessment, one is being paid under protest and one looks as if it will go through the state courts - that of the e Corp. The emergence of the Kearns-Tribun- e Corp. as a principle in this situation is very interesting when one looks further into the case. This corporation, which publishes the Salt Lake Tribune, ownes 40 acres of class Kearns-Tribun- lf (See COAL, Page 2) 1 Amano resigns recorder post 1 1 rS r s .,l Yosh Amano, Helper City recorder for the past year, surprized the city council at p.m. Lion's Ladies Night at the LaSalle Annex. 8 p.m. Bingo at St. Anthony's Jan. 17 Church Hall. 3 p.m. Brownies and Junior, Jan. 20 Jan. 16 7 Scouts meeting at Sally Mauro p.m. Adult Education Elementary; classes begin at Carbon High School. Jan. 21 10 a.m. Helper, Ward, Spring Glen Ward and Kenilworth Ward Relief Society meetings. Jan. 22 Soroptomist meeting. If you would like to have your Club news and dates of meeting placed on the Community Calendar, please contact Jean Ann Dimick, 7-- came post to the amid a controversy that saw the first reject his their last meeting Thursday city council to the job by nomination night by handing in his then mayor-elec- t Chuck 1. Feb. effective resignation acthen and Ghirardelli Amano, in his letter of his cepted the thanked resignation, later. council and the city for the unanimously a week He took over duties as to serve the opportunity recorder in community as city recorder deputy city of 1973 and and zoning administrator of and thanked those present assumed the post in January of last recorder their for personal associations with him in his year. Amano indicated to the work as recorder. He did that the not list any reasons for his Helper Journal of serving in a pressure resignation. had proved to Councilmen present paid political post he cared to than more be and tribute to Amano told the He also handle. thanked him for his service. er 9 472-501- Amano recorder l,..fw Helper JZljzizi firemen (from Robert Fenn to r) Kerry and Mike Zamantakis examine fire equipment display in the window of the new fire Neilsen, 1 J department meeting center on Helper's Main Street. The hall will be used for fire department meetings and training exercises. photo 1 -J Journal that he had not made any definite plans for the future. With Amano' s resignation, the city council opened the job up to Helper residents wishing to apply. Before assuming the recorder post, Amano had owned and operated the Fish Market, Helper managed OK Cleaners in Helper and served as an agent for Investors Syndicate Agency, a mutual funds organization. Amano lives in Helper with his wife, the former Smiley Waki. The couple have two sons Gary and Young. |