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Show The A2 1 '' " V. Times-Independen- Thursday, March 6, 1980 t, -- A -- i I .C,ifJ ?5 i It n Community Comments . was with a sense of anticipation Looking Backward Through the Files of The and the by Barry McWilliams Times-Independe- . c 0 Mice that I set out Grand Valley last Wednesday afternoon for Blanding, where I picked up Merlin Grover, of San Juan Social Services, who was to chauffer me on to Oljato for a hearing on the family with the Navajos of the area. Oljato. A distant place imbued with some mystery and fantasy in my mind, from the several things I had heard about the place. We left Blanding, heading south toward Bluff, that beautiful and historic town, then on to Mexican Hat and through the sweeping expanse of Monument sunshine. Valley, still and serene in the in I encountered had blizzard from the far It was a cry before. week the Blanding More miles, then a short distance on a dirt road, and we pulled into the parking area at the Oljato Navajo Chapter House, the social and tribal business meeting place. We were greeted by an assortment of pickup trucks and Navajos, in both traditional dress and hair style, and in modern. And we were greeted by Tully Lameman, executive director of the Utah Navajo Development Council, which accepted responsibilities for the hearing that day, and another the next. Tully explained to me Oljato means Moon Water. Some people had come 100 miles to the hearing, from as far as Navajo Mountain, to voice their concerns about the family. The proceedings were conducinflation. Now each one of loungers at the campsite. ted in Navajo, so the concerns I gleaned came from an Dear Sam: With runaway inflation us carries a $4,000 debt Soon the lounging apoccasional word or phrase in English, some little childs head. peals to more of the huntestimony in English, from facial expressions of those just around the corner, on all fear if And this the as every year that the ters and quickly you have testifying, and from talking with the hearing officers why s is world Inflation ending? budget is not balanced less numbers of later. feeding more The concerns? I dont have written reports from the is the best and easiest an- means a bigger debt. It hearing committees yet, however from my limited per- swer to our current only takes an hour for the and more loafers and problems! It is presses to print another loungers.) spective they appeared similar to those raised in Anglo economic feu- - wiser to There are two answers because give OPEC billion dollars. But there hearings, skewed a little differently perhaps, of cultural differences. paper which we can make is no free lunch in life. to our current economic by inflation, or Someone has to work, or problem. One is to let oil They were concerned that traditional Navajo worthless declare later it so, rather hunt and gather, or call it find its own price in the cultural values are eroding, that children are not our 50 production. The bottom market place (I would not over than give showing proper, respect for their elders. Students from or line fact is that we are be surprised at $14 a corporations biggest 85 one miles to to school, Oljato are bussed Blanding a paying off that debt on gallon now) along with a our had gold. Germany A school. to a miles Thats 32,000 way. year, just going in similar the our heads by means of in- balanced budget, which problem new high school is planned in Monument Valley, which But instead flation. What food and would mean many people 1920s. early will greatly alleviate the problem. I could have bought will go hungry fast, but water of OPEC was war it But still, roads are not plentiful on the reservation, and tend to be dirt. Nancy Fulgerator, of the Navajo reparations, and inflation for one days work gets not the workers. Or the less and less. Likewise, other is to have inflation Mountain Chapter, called for more direct routes from was the practical answer. U.S. Consider the what groceries cost one wipe the debt slate clean, that point to point, as did Fr. Baxter Liebler. On the reser- deficit is now hour of work will soon which would probably $4,000 per vation great distances and poor roads can have a one days work and mean many people will go have Many people require person. on families. Public negative impact transportation is the naive notion that the the situation is getting hungry only slower. Inseen as a real need. govt.-bot- h U.S.A. U.S. worse. There is no flation is the easier to opt (or Other needs: more communications with county ofif some the are a for. is it are same) you escaping ficers; a permanent welfare worker; care for children, I am only from But with the problems and citizen, you separate entity and alcohol and aged; an handicapped drugs and I, some Santa Claus U.S. has--- I can see a the the for hardest sorry rehabilitation program; faster progress toward better of of for our workers with unlimited an sack light. The U.S. is bright society housing, sewage and water systems; a more responsive will inorthe In .an leading they simplified goodies. pay attitude from tribal leaders and the State of Utah. country in Health hazards presented by energy resource terms the USA is you and dinate share of the debt. world. the We million have been 250 in for instance a Isome (As development are concerns. Uranium and radiation is a called U.S. citizens.people the Nobel most awarded thering And a society, big issue. Barbara Goodman, with a cancer control each time the U.S. in science since out and Govt, go prizes proportion project in Kayenta, Az., came to say, When radioac- sends out a check it is 250 hunt and gather the food WW2 and have almost tive material gets into water, it gets into the food citizens paying it either in and water required for the made clean sweeps in the chain, including mothers milk. Julian Jake, a Navajo social services worker, taxes or in deficit spend-n- whole society to live in- past years. With our eventually paid for in cluding the loafers and energy problem, I predict testified both in Navajo and English, the latter mostly for my benefit. He said there are about 250 Navajo youth in San Juan County between 16 and 21 who are EDITORIAL: out of school and out of work. They appear to be he said, to become lifelong recipients of welfare. Despite education and training, it appears the problem may be getting worse, not better. They have no occupational skills and because of low communications skills, employers dont want to hire them, he said, giving lack of dependability as the reason. Advanced Health Systems appearance on the scene in More problems Jake enumerated: jobs are distant Grand County, evidenced by a hospital management contract from homes, and near-booactivities in communities signed Monday by Grand County Commissioners, should be make rental prohibitive; outside support systems for viewed as the legendary "White Knight in Shining Armor. Up these youth are hard to establish away from home. While I was listening (and not understanding much until now the future for Allen Memorial hospital has been so of what I heard), I was watching, observing, learning a bleak that closure or a downgrading to the status of first-aibit more about our native Americans to the south. station have been real possibilities. They are not shy speaking in front of a group, and they The question came down to how long the county could afspeak with dignity and conviction. The Navajo handshake is a form of greeting, and not nearly as vigford to put upward of $200,00 annually into the facility to keep orous as mine. The children seem accepted by all. it operating. Declining patient census over the last 10 years, While a group cavorted in the courtyard outside, one coupled with shorter patient stay, fewer physicians in Moab denim tot, dressed in blue jeans and a fleece-lineand high cost of operation are the major factors which have jacket, advanced to the front row and approached an (riMUS hunters-gatherer- hunting-ga- g d, New hospital management good for residents m d d old man, who offered her his lap. The next afternoon, at White Horse High School in Montezuma Creek, the group had an entirely different flavor. The white mans world has impinged much more there on the traditional Navajo culture. People seemed more angry, frustrated, more demanding. Traditional Navajo dress, hair style and jewelry were noticeably absent. Boy Atene, UNDO board member from Oljato, who had been a hearing officer the day before, came nearly 100 miles to listen again, and chastised the group for and not sticking to the subject, the being family. Members of the local Coalition group, which shut down the Aneth oil field two years ago, were present complaining that UNDC had not done enough for them. They wanted to hold their own hearing. They approached me. Sure, go ahead, I said, giving them the format used elsewhere in the state. d Why should I, an Anglo and an outsider, be more trust than fellow Navajos, I asked later. Simply because I was a white woman and an outsider, and because I was viewed as an emissary of the governor, I was told. What an honor. All in all, it was a choice experience both days, perhaps a long-winde- d accor-corde- once-in-a-lifeti- experience. Adrien Taylor Keep Abreast of Activities in This Rapidly Growing Visitor Mecca Subscribe Now to Stye uJtmea-SniiepEniJe- nt Address- City. panies. The ownership of the hospital will remain with Grand County, and the local hospital board will retain policy control, with AHS assuming iiability for improvements, program and debts. Both the county and AHS have the option to sever ties on six months notice. AHS owns or manages hospitals in Coalville, Kanab, Salt Lake City and Tooele, Utah, and operates clinics in Coalville, Eureka, Glendale, Grantsville, Kanab, Nephi, Park City, Salt Lake City, Santequin and Tooele, Utah. In each of the hospitals it operates, impressive plans for upgrading and expansion are in place. The proposal of the company to the hospital board outlines an aggressive plan for Grand County. While it will take two to three months to implement completely, it represents a giant step forward for health care in this area, and should be applauded and supported by every county resident. 10-pag- Name . Sovtheastftm Utah necessitated county input of such large sums of money. Now comes Advanced Health Systems, Inc. (AHS) to bail out the county and its taxpayers. After past experience, the natural reaction is to view such apparent miracle workers with a somewhat jaundiced eye. Close scrutiny of the corporation reveals that its track record in managing small hospitals and turning around poor financial situations is unblemished. Its premise is that people who utilize the facility, or their insurance, should pay the cost of care, and that providing expanded services will entice more people to use their rural hospital and facilities. That means that the cost of hospitalization here will rise, but currently it averages $186 per day, compared to $350 as a state average. Since insurance premiums are based on regional or nationwide averages, not local rates, its easy to see that local taxpayers have, in reality, been subsidizing insurance com- - .State. .Zip. 7. Elsewhere - MO.00 e al ar . -- 24-ho- ur . it will be U.S. science and tech, in the form of fusion--- a sun in our backyard-th- at will usher in the new . energy era. And in my eyes that will be the supreme achievement by mankind to date. And I am going to live to see it. Ludwig . scientific-technologic- the streets in the south 20 Years Ago Uranium end of town were surStandard The listed was of Moab, veyed by state road Corp. on the American Stock engineers, preparatory to Exchange Feb. 29, 1960, working out a paving in ceremonies which in- program. A legal battle cluded Standard President Indians and William R. McCormick between and Exchange President whites for possession of Edward T. McCormick. about 7,000 acres of Standard Uranium, organ- grazing land in San Juan ized in 1954, was developCounty near Blanding was in claims decided in favor of the ing 15 mining Indian Indians. The decision was Mining the Big handed down by Fred W. District south of Moab. A surprise snowstorm, Johnson, commissioner of in sustained the general land office in the most in settled several years, Washington, DC, orderMoab Valley Monday, ing A.S. Brown, registrar Feb.29, 1960 and started a of the Salt Lake land office without furdownpour that to proceed to winter precipboosted the ther delay adjudicate itation figures far above 45 allotments of land to average. By 4:45 p.m. the Paiute and Ute IndiTuesday, the URECO ans. The commissioners acweather station reported and snow of was made over the inches tion three .27 inch moisture for the protest of the attorney 24 hour period. general of Utah and Services were held in stockmen of the San Juan Moab for mining engineer region. Struggle for conGarland Henry Shefel-bin- trol of the land dated back who was fatally to 1929, when it was injured in a cave-i- n at the proposed to add 552,000 Ike Shaft of the Hidden acres to the Navajo Splendor Mining Co. in reservation. Terrible the Big Indian Mining The District. Shefelbine was Swedes, a barnstorming killed and two other trick basketball team, were workers injured announced plans to play in when a rockfall occurred Moab against a mixed 450 ft. deep in the mine high school and town team. Funds raised by the during a routine inspection trip. game were to be used to East Carbon wrote an rebuild the Moab school end to Moab hopes for a athletic field. It was share in the league title by planned to level the field edging the Red Devils and plant grass. In addi2 in a thriller that was tion, the old grandstand in doubt the entire game. was tom down and the The loss left the Devils material used to construct with a 3 region record bleachers along the footand a 15-- 7 record for the ball field. 80 Years Ago year. Utahs deer harvest A crew of men was at totalled 126,315 animals work building a reservoir during the 1959 hunting for irrigation purposes seasons, according to a near the head of Salt final report issued by the Valley, on the road from Dept, of Fish and Game. Moab to The total was the highest Several familiesThompson. had anever reported in Utah. The nounced intentions to records indicated a 60 settle there in the spring percent buck and 40 of 1900. percent antlerless success 10-ye- Letters from our readers . i his-her-- Times . mid-afterno- dead-ende- nt Dear Sam: In your Community Comments of the 21, 1980, issue February of the you voice your concern over the proposed nuclear waste sites for the permanent storage of them in Salt Valley and Gibson Dome in Grand County. I also read that Mr. Times-Independe- nt Howard Ritzma, associate director of the Utah Geological and Mineral Survey comments that depending on their salt location, deposits present an ideal location for nuclear reac- tor wastes and that salt is an excellent shield radioactivity. Having done geological field work in the areas mentioned I am of the opinion that it would be questionable to store nuclear wastes in the Paradox salts beds in these areas but have not seen the data from the test holes drilled. The salt beds of Illinois and the Gulf Coast are different and lend them- to selves mining operations, but I am of the opinion that the salt beds in the areas under consideration will be found to contain rather extensive fracturing and e, 45-4- 3-- . rate. The Joint Congressional Committee on Atomic Energy requested Uranium Institute of America studies on the domestic and Canadian uranium industry. The request was made to determine the present state and possible future developments in the industry. . The. English language has gone through some definite changes since 1900. An article in the March 2, 1900 issue of the Grand Valley Times stated that, George Stanford, Dave Goudebuck and Marginess Johnson, of Indian Creek, were Moab visitors this week, the boys will drop in occasionally for bill of grup 40 Years Ago and-etIn order to. permit a A $200 reward was interbedded shale continuation of street pavoffered by the citizens of stringers in the salt body. ing work through Moab, Moab for information Sincerely, the Grand County Comleading to the arrest and Willard J. Classen missioners, in cooperation Reg. Professional with the City Council, conviction of the person Geologist announced plans for in- who set fire to Mons Petersons haystack on Menlo Park, Calif. stalling 2,050 ft. of drain the night of Feb. 19, 1900. pipe through the length of John H. Shafer, J.H. the old town arroyo, which Johnson Legion Auxiliary and Lester Taylor cut diagonally through the were elected as delegates planning dinner center of the valley. to the state Republican The American Legion In addition to draining convention. A. Molyneux will serve a Auxiliary the arroyo, it was planned Was elected chairman of complete ham dinner for that six to eight blocks of the American Legion streets would be the county central city birthday celebration on paved during 1940. All of March 13 at 6:30 p:m. at American Legion Hall. Tickets will be $3 per Times-Independe- nt individual or $5 per couple. Reservations must Entered as Second Class Matter be made no later than 10 At the Post Office at Moab, Utah p.m. Wednesday, March Under the Act of March 3, 1897 12. For reservations call Second Class Postage Paid at Moab, Utah 84532 Ed Neal, Sug. Official City and County Newspaper Don Bailey, or Mary Kirk, Published each Thursday at 35 East Center Street Pogue, Moab, Utah 84532 There will be a guest Samuel J. Taylor, Publisher & Editor speaker of the evening, and all veterans and wives Adrien F. Taylor Managing Editor are invited. The Auxiliary William P. Davis News Editor asks that Legion members Cheri Merz Typesetting & Layout Circulation Manager help to set up the hall Dorothy Anderson staff Assistant prior to the dinner and Peter Dustrud clean up after. c. The 259-694- 0, 259-675- 7, 259-66- 75 259-622- 8. Members will meet Thursday, March 6 and should bring ideas for the event and volunteer help. Tickets will be available for pre-saby members. . le U.S.G.S. Topographic Available at The Times-Independe- nt Weather |
