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Show Pjjl. YOUR TOWH YOUR NEWSPAPER mm school somnon More waste still an option Task force proposes solution to Utah's teacher shortage woes ASSOCIATED posal designed to battle the state's growing teacher shortage. Enrollment at the state's public schools is soaring while the number of college graduates choosing teaching as a task force. Brock Vergakis THE s of stuThe catch? About dents would have to choose to go to school during the summer. Teachers also would have to teach class 213 days a year instead of 180 and some classes wouldn't end until about 5 two-third- PRESS profession is stagnant and large numbers of teachers are expected to retire in the next decade. "Utah has a serious problem. Simply put, we are running out of qualified, fully licensed teachers," said Richard Kendell, Utah higher educa- Utah could SALT LAKE CITY raise teacher salaries, reduce class sizes and create an oversupply of public school teachers without raistion commissioner. ing taxes under a new proposal repin. It's all part of a three semester pro leased Tuesday by a state education The State Board of Regents and EnergySolutions maintains ability to increase capacity State Board of Education commissioned a task force to find a way to creatively address the state's teacher shortage. That task force, which includes representatives from the state's largest teachers union, school district superintendents and college acJministrators, released its report Tuesday. It emphasized the importance of paying teachers higher salaries if it wants to compete with surrounding See TEACHERS, A3 Canyon Skywalkers Paul Foy THE YOUR NEIGHBORS 50 CENTS ASSOCIATED PRESS SALT LAKE CITY Energy Solutions says it fulfilled a bargain with Gov. Jon Huntsman by dropping a request to nearly double the capacity of its radioactive-wast- e dump in Utah's west desert. But in a letter released Tuesday, the company's vice president of X regulatory affairs said EnergySolu-tion- s is preserving its right to seek future approval for the expansion. Tye Rogers even asked the state Division of Radiation Control to hold onto the company's voluminous file for that possibility. The notice appeared to undermine the compromise with Huntsman, who last week portrayed it as "the endgame for the of other states' radioactive waste." The deal called for EnergySolu-tion- s to "promptly withdraw" a license amendment, without qualifying language about preserving future options, according to the governor's office. EnergySolutions' amendment already has been approved on the engineering merits by state regulators. It would have let the company pile 9.8 million cubic yards of waste on parts of its dump, up from the licensed cap of 5.5 million cubic yards. 1 1 I Ti f fc'.? 1 4 Visitors stand 4,000 feet above Grand Cany on floor . Chris Kahn THE ASSOCIATED HUALAPAI INDIAN RESERIndian leaders, VATION, Ariz. former astronauts and other visitors stepped gingerly beyond the Grand Canyon's rim Tuesday, staring through a glass floor and chasm below intothe 4,000-foo- t during the opening ceremony for a new observation deck. A few members of the Huala-pa- i Indian Tribe, which allowed the Grand Canyon SkywaLk to be built, hopped up and down on mile-squa- re See WASTE, PRESS A6 structure. the horseshoe-shapeAt its edge 70 feet beyond the rim the group peeked over the d Vouchers not a sure thing yet glass wall. "I can hear the glass cracking!" Hualapai Chairman Charlie Vaughn said playfully. The massive deck is anchored deep into a limestone cliff. As people walk across it, the glass layers creak and the deck wobbles almost imperceptibly. To one side, the Colorado river appears n ribbon. To the as a slim, other, people can see a triangular dip in the canyon's ridge, known as "Eagle Point" because it looks amazingly like an eagle with out- Brooke Barker DAILY pea-gree- HERALD While some private school officials are crossing their fingers about the Utah voucher program, others are preparing to do without. ' 'Some schools may not qualify for the vouchers," said Kolleen DeGraff, Liahona Academy's administrator. "Having an 80 percent capital is kind of a hitch." . The Liahona Academy in Pleasant Grove is expanding this year to include a junior high and high school class, but when it first opened 11 years ago, having the money set aside would have been hard, said. "I understand the safeguards and logic behind it," she said. Other schools, who meet the requirements, are choosing not to accept the vouchers. "Our primary consideration is providing children with an education that will enrich their lives," said Susan Landgraf , a representative from Challenger Schools. "While we enthusiastically support the concept of vouchers, we support tax credits, not vouchers." Government-issuevouchers, she said, would only lead one day to government controls. An group, Utahns for Public Schools, have until April 9 to collect 92,000 signatures on a alpetition to the recent legislation locating $9.2 million of the general school choice 0 fund for vouchers. stretched wings. When the wind blows, only the most daring visitors resist grabbing the steel rail to steady their knees. Former astronaut Buzz Aldrin, who was invited to join the tribe, declared it a "magnificent first walk." "It felt wonderful, not exactly like floating on air," Aldrin said after stepping off the deck. For ... mer astronaut John Herrington ....r 1 .7; People walk on the Skywalk at the Grand Canyon on the Hualapai Indian Reservationht Grand Canyon West, Ariz.;, was also among the first people on Tuesday. Top right: Former astronaut Buzz Alarm and his wife, Lois, wave to the crowd after making the : ' See SKYWALK, A6 . ceremonial irst walk. ' ,.'W:;'. .. .. 4 De-Gra-ff p ; Questiomwonbe public or under patfy " Laurie Kellman THE ASSOCIATED : er See VOUCHERS, A3 ; i( HARAZ H. 8HANBARIAP J j. V.tJte House poKlical strategist ; Karl Rove arrives in ; Washington on Tuesday V , 4 :i WASHINGTON A defiant Presi--' dent Bush warned Democrats Tuesday to accept his offer to have top aides speak about the firings of federal prosecutors only privately and not under Committee. Bush, in a oath, or risk a constitutional showdown from which he would not back dowa Democrats' response was swift and ; firm: They said they would start autho--. rizing subpoenas as soon as today for : e House aides. ,9 - " BRIEFING ' Testimony should be on the record ' and under oath. That's the formula for true accountability," said Patrick Leahy, t, chairman of the Senate Judiciary ;J PRESS' d $500-53,00- INSIDE Bush GKs Congress to question aides ; M EDITORIALS AS UFE8 STYLE B1 COMICS M SPORTS CI WEATHER CS OUR TOWNS D1 - statement ; at the White House, said he would fight " any subpoena effort in court. "We will not go along with a partisan fishing expedition aimed at honorable public servants," he said. "It will be regrettable if they choose to head down ,! See FIRED, A2 D4 OBITUARIES BUSINESS ' DC ' II SI Spotty showers HIGH 54 LOW 32 VOLUME M ISSUE 233 II y61055 "00050" |