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Show p WEb 1'ERN MlLKUORWPrui-c- s bri BTE COMMERCE .ITY ' w - t-f- p LIT DIBIT 841 E 84137-43,- :: I I 1 i i Vol. 20, No. 34 Wednesday, August 26, It 2:v, p - 1998 50 cents J I More I0C4L news ten any offter source a single copy ... for an hour Gas leak closes Main Street By Julie Loveridge Lehi workers got more than they expected Tuesday morning, Aug. 25, around 10 a.m. while working on a water line at 100 East Main Street. The backhoe accidently nicked a 4" plastic natural gas line, sending natural gas shooting up in the air with a roar that could be heard several blocks away. The leak resulted in the sure of Main Street and East one , clo- 100 block each direction for over an hour until Questar crews were able to crimp off the line at the point of the leak, said Dale Ekins, Lehi Fire Chief. Police, fire, and ambulance iipi Photo by Julie Loveridge Lehi Mayor Ken Greenwood makes a statement at a meeting of the Draper Planning Commission Thursday night. suggestions that they extinguish pilot lights and other City expresses concern with Draper sewer plan By Julie Loveridge Lehi's quiet little stream choked with a summer overcoat of weeds and wild flowers has become the source of controversy between Lehi and the developers of SunCrest, a proposed Draper community planned to nestle in the tops of the moun- tains. Section 7 of the SunCrest Master Plan proposes handling sewage for its 4,000 new homes by building a waste water treatment plant in the mountains above Lehi and using the Dry Creek Drainage to carry the effluent to Utah Lake. A group from Lehi including private citizens and several members of the Lehi City Council, headed by Lehi Mayor Ken Greenwood, protested the proposal at Draper Planning Commission's meeting last Thursday, Aug. 20, 1998. "We believe that unless significant facilities are constructed as part of the SunCrest project, both private and public property located within Lehi City and Utah County will be damby worsened spring flood events," said Greenwood in a speech to aged time the Planning Commission. Greenwood submitted recent photographs of Dry Creek to the commission, indicating concern that effluent of a waste water treatment plant would be most, if not all, the flow in the Creek for much of the year; and that treatment plant effluent may create new prob- lems not previously associated with the flooding due to degraded water quality and the likely presence of conta I 1 crews were called to the scene to assist with traffic control and to be available if they were needed. TETCO were employees evacuated until the leak was under control, according to Ekins. Other neighbors were advised of the situation with sources of flame simply as a precautionary measure'. "It wasn't necessary to panic and do a lot of things," Ekino explained when asked why residents weren't evacuated. He said there was a 15 mph wind blowing northwest which quickly dissipated the gas, which is minants. "I want to make it clear," concluded Greenwood, "that if this proposal goes through as planned, there will be a fight, a long fight and a good fight." Lehi Elementary PTA President Diane Daly discussed concerns that the Photo by Julie Loveridge Police divert traffic from scene of gas leak lighter than air. However, he continued, the odor added to natural gas to give it its distinctive smell, is heavier than air and concentrations of the odor lingered after the gas was gone. mer-capta- n, Lehi students creek runs through Elementary school property, and asked the commission to downtown Lehi. Lehi firefighters have been carefully trained by Questar on how to handle natural gas which emergencies, they applied in Tuesday's mishap according to Ekins. "This happens somewhat reg- - ularly," he said, indicating that it was never a critical situation, for which he was grateful. The 4" line was under about 45 lbs. of pressure, said Ekins, compared to about 1 lb. of pressure in the lines entering homes. bottles with them until the weather cools. Elementary classrooms are full throughout all Lehi schools as enrollment continues to rise, said Jack Reid, Assistant j&p'.:' - carefully consider the impact approval of SunCrest's Master Plan would have on in head back to school By Julie Loveridge For some the summer seemed to go too fast; for others, it was too long. But for everyone it ended this past week with a flurnights, shopry of ping specials, and finally when the bells rang and Lehi's children were once again in school. at Meadow Students Elementary were greeted with balloons and school staff directing traffic on their first day of school Thursday, Aug. 20. Friday, Aug. 21, found Seventh Graders facing the long halls, diverse classes, and locker combinations at the Junior High. Members of the school Student council assisted the students in opening lockers and finding their way to classes. All other Lehi students returned to school on Monday, Back-to-Scho- students at that school. Indicating apprehension that increased flow in Dry Creek would result in excessive flow in the waste ditch which channels through his Lehi property on 200 West, Lt. Col. (Ret.) J. Sterling Merrell spoke representing himself and his sister-in-laand Esther neighbor,Hebrew. "I've been pushed to the limit," he said, expressing dissatisfaction with what he perceives as flows already higher than limits allowed by law in the waste water ditch. Bill Gibbs, Jr., a Midvale resident who owns 80 acres of property in an unincorporated area east of Micron and son of former Lehi Mayor Bill Gibbs, Sr., suggested that property outside of the Salt Lake County line from Draper be and annexed to one of the northern Utah County cities (Lehi, Alpine, or Highland) w Aug. 24. Continued heat with afternoon temperatures in the 90's has relegated new school clothes to the closets as students opted the comfort of summer outfits for Cedar Fort says no to 2800 home where the waste disposal be could handled by Timpanogos Special District lines. Members of the Draper Commission were gracious See SEWER on Page 3 annexation X pouce s ivl , for Superintendent Elementary Schools in the School District. Alpine Eaglecrest, which opened at about 100 under capacity last year, is full this year. Meadow K-- 6 W 111 Photo by Julie Loveridge Suzanne Stout helps Jennifer Baum open her locker at Lehi Jr. High School Monday morning while Leschia Heaton watches. days. opening Sego Lily Elementary and Lehi High School remain as Lehi's only schools facing the heat with Iim-By Russ . Daly City Editor Nolan Jensen took home the last award given by the Cedar Fort Town Council when his the fourth, building permit and therefore the last one given was approved this year Monday night. The developers behind the proposed Big Sky project, were turned away, likely to head to Eagle Mountain for their con ited air conditioning. Lynette Rushton, secretary at Sego Lily indicated students there are allowed to bring water sideration. Kent Hoggan and Myron Childs attended the meeting to find out if Cedar Fort would be willing to consider their Elementary 's enrollment is also up more than 100 over last year and is near capacity. "We continue to watch it carefully. We need to make plans," Reid indicated, referring to rapid in the Saratoga growth SpringsEagle Mountain areas resulting in the potential need for additional schools. Reid said new students continue to be registered daily in many of the schools, especially Meadow Elementary where some parents are driving their children from as far away as Orem in anticipation of a move to Lehi later this year. waste the time and money in preparing the official documents. . "If you're not interested, you say 'no' up front," said attorney David Church, who attended the meeting as legal representative for the town. "That saves everybody time and money." The town did just that with a motion from Barry Miller and a 4 to 1 vote to deny the petition. See ANNEX on Page 3 request. The petition is the first step d annexain the tion procedure and is used to find out if a city is even willing to hear a future annexation request. If a city says no in this first step, a developer does not state-mandate- New Lone Peak principal brings many strengths to job of overseeing technology, organizatios By Beky Beaton Lone Peak's assistant principal Ben Ford may be new to the school, but not to his boss. "I'm lucky to get "him here," said principal Jim Starr, who became acquainted with Ford when they worked together previously at Oak Canyon Junior High. "Our students and parents will come to see his value." Ford taught English and social studios at Oak Canyon, where Starr said he "noticed his extraordinary abilities. He's very intelli- gent, and a good thinker." He also is "up on current technology and can give us a lot of help there." Ford has made some forays into the business world as well, School, where he played on the which Starr said gives him "a basketball teams that won perspective of the business state championships in 1981 world and a clearer view of and '83. needs." He earned a bachelor's His assignments at Lone degree in English education Peak include overseeing all of from BYU in 1989 and a masthe school's technology and ter's in training and developmost of the scheduling. Starr ment from Oregon State said he has a "hands-on- , heads-tiUniversity in 1991. He taught attitude and is a real probfor a year in Idaho before lem solver. returning to Utah and Canyon "He has a willing attitude View Junior High. and will do whatever it takes to After one year there. Starr get the job done. He's not really selected him to help start Oak interested in getting the credit Canyon, where he installed the as long as things work," Starr school's computer network his school-to-care- p said. Ford moved to Lehi when he was three, and his parents Joe and Elaine Ford still live there. He graduated from Lehi. High second year. He served as assistant principal thej-- two years, the first as a teacher on special e assignment. He enjoyed this experience so much, he said "I liked what I saw and it looked like something I'd enjoy, so I went and got my (administrative) certificate," received from BYU in 1996. Ford also spent eight years in the Utah National Guard as part of the 1457th Engineers and worked on the side and e as an instructional designer and technical support manager. He lives in Payson with his wife and three children. He replaces Judy Runolfson' who is still employed by Alpine School District but is on a 4 year assignment at BYU as an Olympic ambassador liaison. She is also completing work there on her Ph.D. J- - mm, full-tim- I Mi 1': Photo by Beky New Lone Peak High School assistant principal Ben Ford. Beaton |