OCR Text |
Show DAILY HERALD Sunday, September 26, 2004 M-Sfff- l Dangerous road gets safety facelift . THE ASSOCIATED PRESS - , .SALT LAKE CITY Crews are busy transforming what many consider to be Utah's deadliest highway. US. 6, the L28nile highway connecting Spanish Fork and . Green River near Interstate 70, is being widened in spots and is getting other improve- - -ments in a costly effort to remake the sometimes narrow- ing route. "We can make it better," said Mike Miles, the high- - . way's project manager for the Utah Department of Transportation. "We can get rid of mostof that two-lanif not, all, and at least have three-an- d four-lan- e stretches rather than two, three, four and five (lanes). We're trying to make it more consistent through. , e, out." UDOT has spent $115 million since 1997 on U.S. 6, widening certain segments, adding passing lanes, posting warning signs and adding rumble strips in the median and on the shoulders. Frequent users have demanded a safer road. In the past four years, there have been an average of 10 fa- tal crashes per year on U.S. 6. In the late 1990s, the average was about 12 fatal crashes annually. So far in 2004, ' the number of fatal accidents on U.S. 6 has apologizes for 'hullabaloo' dropped to five. If that trend : continues, the year could end j with the smallest number of fatal crashes on U.S. 6 in many years. "They reaDy have made a difference, and those numbers really show that, but there are still some obvious things that need to be done," said House Minority Whip Brad King, a longtime U.S. 6 watch- -' dog and advocate. UDOT is planning a series of public hearings next week to present a draft environment impact statement for future improvements. If the document's final version is approved by the federal government next spring as hoped, . UDOT will proceed with another $40 million worth of improvements. '. Officials would eventually like to widen the highway's entire length, but many say the $550 million cost could be prohibitive, and the draft FJS has revealed about 20 acres of wetlands that would be affected. That's why UDOT is considering widening some of the highway from two lanes to three lanes with no future plans to extend to four lanes. About half of U.S. 6 is now two lanes, with roughly 25 percent three lanes and the remaining quarter, including recent improvements east of Spanish Fork, at four lanes with a center median. .J i THEASSOCIATEOPRESS., f EmbatWEST JORDAN tled Salt Lake County Mayor Nancy Workman opened a candidate forum by apologizing for an apparent the "hullabaloo" reference to the allegations of misusing public funds against ' her. Workman, who is on paid leave after being charged with two felonies, said at a West Jor? dan forum she was sorry for aU the "consternation it gives the whole community and aU of the citizens." "But J'm hopeful it wUl be resolved, and we'n get a trial date here today or tomorrow, and we'll get it aU resolved so that you know what we know: that I'm innocent" . Workman, mayor of Utah's most populous county, is charged with misusing public .. THE ASSOCIATED ; PRESS SALT LAKE CITY ASSOCIATED PRESS "We keepMosing all oiir good people; ' A good way to keep quality teachers is to give them the support Worried-abou- t they need wherf : they first start." ' The Davis School District has started a $700,000 mentor- ing program to help first-- , second- and third-yea- r teachers be more comfortable with their jobs and improve their skills. Those teachers represent a particularly vulnerable group in the Davis district, with about 44 percent of new teach- -' ers leaving the profession af--: ter just six years. "We keep losing all our good people," said Brian Pead Davis' coordinator of new teacher induction. "A good ' way to keep quality teachers is totgive them the support they" need when they first start It's an overwhelming business," i .Eight percent of Utah teachers, he said, simply quit each year. Last year the district started addressing that problem by reassigning two teachers to be e mentors, Elaine Endo and Suzanne Cottrell, who split their time between help- ing teachers and finding a proven mentoring model that the district could implement. "New teachers go through an emotional roller coaster," Cottrell said. "It's a very hard i Lakes Nancy Workman second term, wants the case over before the election even Tony Willardson associate director of the Western States Water Council based Water Education The program is funded by federal grants, money that cannot be used for things like teacher salaries. Mentors spend at least an hour and a half per week with each first-yeteacher, aiding with planning, assessment, classroom environment and ' class management. , "The bottom line is to help . improve student learning,". r Pead said, noting teachers teach what they know, and this will give them someone to collaborate with so they can learri more methods and get new ideas. "If every student has a quality teacher in the ' ; classroom, they are learning." All mentors have at least 10 years' teaching experience, but many have more than 25 years. Susan Larson, a first-yea- r Spanish teacher, says her first . . three meetings with her menjob." tor have already helped her. The district's model is "The learning curve is huge," based on a program devel- ' Larson said, noting a teacher oped by the New Teacher has to get to know at least 180 Center at the University of different students as weU as California at Santa Cruz that staff while trying to familiarize has been in use for about 16 herself with her job and schooL . years. About 41 districts in that area and in other states .. "You are just so overwhelmed ' ' , just trying to survive." use the model With a mentor, she has Areas in California implementing the program had 88 ' learned about recertification -requirements, understood her p percent, double the national imcontract and own teaching average, of their new teachers in the business after six years, proved her lessons. " "I get the teachers atthe . Pead said. i This year, Davis hired seven ' point when "they are like deer I in the headlights," said e mentors who are Michele Swenson, Larson's each assigned 15 iiew teach--' mentor. "They're excited but ; ers, while seven part-tim- e Jmentors work with 15 to 30 . I not sure how to jump off the ' road." ;V , : 'second- - and thir&year teach; v Comparisons between the and Mona Lake illustrated how "terminal water bodies" are overlooked when it comes to water management. Water is often diverted from rivers flowing into lakes for irrigation, causing lake levels to r ASSOCIATED PRESS full-tim- ' ; , ;. to Salt Lake Citv for stiidv ders. :. A caller told the Nevada Department of Wildlife two . elk were locked together, common when bulls fight ing the annual rut. A crew of biologists from Elko, Nev., arrived and saw the elk thrashing and flailing behind a fence signed "No Trespassing " 'Officials found the landowner, Karl "Bud" Bedke, and asked for permission to enter the land and try to free the elk. ft was refused. "You can imagine the con , OGDEN Two large bull elk, who locked horns in ex-- , treme northeast Nevada, died after a landowner refused ac- cess to biologists who wanted to save the animals by cutting them apart. , . The incident, reported Saturday by the Standard-Examinm Ogden, started last Monday as the bulls sparred in extreme northeastern Nevada less than 10 miles " from the Utah and Idaho bor , ' er te d n ularities. The audit said Hatch set up 25 college-savinaccounts in. his own name in 2002 for a client for whom he acted as . g . . - two-third- , versation that occurred," said Jerry Smith, game warden su- Nevada's eastern pervisor for " region.. "But when a private-propertlandowner says, 'No you cannot trespass on my land' for whatever reason, we cannot do it," he said tried unsuccessful- press SALT LAKE CITY The bones of a giant reptile will be : headed to Salt Lake City next week from the Grand Staircase-EscalanNational Monument for further study at the University of Utah. University paleontologists found the hadrosaur in 2001 on a ridge in what is known as the Blues area, deep inside the southern Utah monument. They nicknamed the site Modi's Hadrosaur" in honor of volunteer Jodi Vincent, who discovered the bones. The remains will be flown to Salt Lake on Wednesday. The transport comes amid a activi series of dinosaur-relateties associated with the museum and the Bureau of Land Man- J agement. On Saturday, the BLM was scheduled to conduct a public tour into the Grand Staircase-Escalant- e National Monument site where another hadrosaur was discovered last September. Part of that specimen's skull is exposed and paleontologists! wiU demonstrate how they ; work to uncover such sped- - ; I mens. A second pubUc demonstra-- ; tion at the same site is sched- '. uled for Oct. 14. Mike Getty, the museum s . vertebrate paleontology coUec; tions manager, said the fos- silized remains could represent a new hadrosaur species. ; Volunteers and researchers . s managed to unearth about of that skeleton, includ--' ing most of the tail They also found parts of the torso, hip, skull and arm bones. "We have no legs," Getty said. "Maybe something tore . them off and ate them" Most of the laboratory work, which could take up to two years, wiU focus on preparing . the skeleton and documenting . the various parts found Getty , said. If the hadrosaur turns out tq be a new species, museum re-- , searchers win come up with a new name. "It's one of the most complete ones we've found in the monu-merit," Getty said of the skele--j The UESP has $740 million in 48,000 individual accounts. Spencer said employees in the saving-plaprogram came forward when they noticed irreg- -' Officials jhe associated . n :theassociatedpress proposal. bones headed Elk die after landowner refuses access to land t e Dinosaur's trustee. Hatch attempted to pay back a portion of the stolen money after he was suspended, but the $20,000 bank check was returned for "insufficient funds." In August, he sent a ' cashier's check for $20,000 to an attorney and certified public accountant, performed legal UESP officials with instrucand tax work for clients in ad- - ' tions to deposit the money into dition to managing the two accounts from which for coUege-boun- d Hatch had received the alsavings-plastudents. legedly stolen funds. "None of the money depositHatch did not return calls ed by individual investors was seeking comment. The report has been forwarded to Salt . no investor appropriated Lake County District Attorney was harmed," said Mark David Yocom for possible Spencer, UHEAA interim executive director, criminal charges. Dale C. Hatch was fired in Jury after, an internal audit showed possible misuse of the group's administrative funds. Executives catted for an audit of Hatch after other employees discovered questionable transactions. State offi-- . cials have said Hatch was fired for "conflict of interest, breach of trust and violations of State Board of Regents policies." A report on the case, released Friday, claimed Hatch stole $85,500 and attempted to steal another $203,400 while being investigated. The report supports the internal investigative audit released Aug. 16 by the Utah . :fuD-tim- living-wag- ft Higher.Education Assistance Authority, which found that Hatch made a "complex series of transactions involving 49 accounts, which resulted in funds amounting to $505,976 being paid in 16 of the 49 accounts without authorizatioa" The money came from administrative funds. Of the $505,976 in unauthorized, funds, $420,476 remains in the 16 accounts, the report said. The remaining $85,500 was paid to Hatch and is "considered stolen," the report said. The report found that Hatch, . ed. ar , a Great Salt Lake and lakes in . California such as Owens Lake SALT LAKE CITY Anew claims the fired deputy executive director of the Utah Educational Savings Plan Trust stole thousands of dollars and tried to steal more while he was being investigat- ers. ; Foun-datio- Corroon disputed the claims and said the plan would apply when two companies are bidding on a county contract for services and there is essentially no difference between the two bids. In that case, the business paying a living wage would get the contract. Workman did not address the , ' drop. If the levels drop too low, exposed minerals can become dust that worsens air quality to dangerous degrees, a phenomena currently happening at the Great Salt Lake. The gathering included a field trip to the Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area and to Antelope Island, where conference attendees learned how volatile the lake's ecology is depending on how high the Water is and what water is flowing into it. Many wildlife species depend on the lake to live. "Often the fixes for these lakes are not so much technical as simply increasing the flow of water," said Rita Schmidt Sudman, executive director of the Water Education Founda-tio- a as a dead lake, but it's not." state report ... Clark Planetarium and a focus on local businesses. But her opponents, Democrat Peter Corroon and independent MerriU Cook criticized Workman's record, while Cook also focused his criticisms on Cor- roon, who is ahead in the polls. Report: Educational Trust funds stolen THE . miUion. up." She also touted her creation of the county's first economic development office, the new money for aBegedly diverting about $17,000 in health department funds to pay for a bookkeeper at a nonprofit organization where her daughter is a top officer. Workman, who is seeking a ... f coordinator of new teacher induction . we'regetting it cleaned Salt Lake County major Salt Lake effects of drought,-accordinto a recent gathering of scientists in Salt Lake City. A few dozen scientists, educators and government officials met a conference last week, declaring Western lakes deserve the same attention and protection as more obvious drought-affecte- d water sources such as rivers and streams. "We think of the Great Salt Lake as a dead lake, but it's not," noted Tony Winardson,' associate director of the Western States Water Council, the the con- - .' group lerence with the California- - ;' Brian Pead , Cook chided Corroon's "living wage" proposal, which would give preferred status in county contracts to companies that pay at least $9 an hour to every employee and provide health insurance. "It is a laudable goal," Cook . said. "The trouble with the liv- -' ing wage is it has an unintended consequence of driving businesses right out of towa" Cook predicted such a plan would ' raise county expenses by $70 ' "We think of the Great are landlocked, but that n't lessen their significance 'when it comes to the harmful program to keep teachers. teachers, losing northern Utah school officials have started a new mentoring program aimed at easing the ' frustration that often drives new teachers from the profes-sio- a though a felony case typically takes about a year to work its way through the court. . At the forum, Workman acknowledged the county scandals that have occurred on her watch: vehicle abuses by top officials, bookkeeping discrepancies in the Fine Arts Division and employee theft at the county Equestrian Park. "It's getting cleaned up," she said. "It looks like it's not working, but it is. It's painful, but' "But I'm hopeful' it will be resolved and we'll get a trial date here today or tomorrow, and we'll get it all resolved so that you know what we know: that I'm innocent." Droughts drain lakes, but also hurt wildlife and land Davis schools start new ' FARMINGTON more nan County g THE C7 : toa Most of the parts to be shipped to Salt Lake City next ; week remain in the field ' covered in plaster. The hadrosaur was split into a dozen pieces, each weighing ' anywhere from several hundred pounds to more than half "a 'ton." ' - ly to get a court order. Under NevadaTaw, if a poacher had shot the two elk, he would have been subject to a felony charge and a fine of up to $10,000 for each animal f MEDICAL M mm f ' JrcScrsen ;! . V--'- n'T! 373-10- 10 -- Provo Htber St'; Ccdrgo 'V Yerotl 1 SalendiRentali FREE Delivery 286 West Center Provo C' 373 - 7288 1 "- m j ' UOHTWElOHT AND VIRTUAUY ItJVbMi ) Introducing the revolutionary yiVATONE"' hearing aid. handt-octormx ,'PtecsM com In to. raclva a ttraflotv A Bmltod numbwot oppotntrnenttara pvaH-aond rrKik yoyr appolnrrTTont tock to :j A " v FREI POTonaBied. HondOn Dwnontfarlon f'i 763-072- 121 PHARMACY MM a - ' i A 1 jl ,a , a I 4 tan MO Monk |