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Show 0 mma' uw'pjrir0 wHfte t- -" uttr SERVING MOAB AND UTAH SINCE 1896 SOUTHEASTERN Moab, Grand County, Utah 84532 2? r 7J. u. -- i s 1rirr,iiTir,iit-rrw- r 111 'iirp'tiiii'tii,'io'"ir)iii,ir''Bi-i'- r Htkh 1'" I'" ,m,ar u'm f? CMC 5f, 4- V Volume 98 Number 36 Thursday, Septembers, 1991 - 50$ Local Justice Court judge appointment put on hold by Utah Judicial Council By Vicki Barker The Utah Judicial Council last Wednesday postponed certifying Paul Cox as justice court judge for Grand County until legal questions clouding his appointment are resolved. Cox was named by Grand County Commissioners earlier this month to fill the vacancy on the justice court, and was scheduled for certification Aug. 28 by the Judicial Council. Ron Gibson, deputy state court administrator, said Thursday that the council postponed the decision until their next session later in September. He said the council assigned stt'f to research the residency requirements for justice court appointments, and allegations of nepotism that surfaced at the Aug. 19 meeting of the Grand County National Park Rangers measure rock which fell out of Landscape Arch Sunday afternoon. Sept. 1. Billed as one of the longest natural rock spans in the world at 306 feet, its a little thinner now. National Park Service officials have debated for years methods of stabilizing some of the more fragile of the hundreds of arches in Arches National Park, and have finally decided to let nature take its course. How long will graceful Landscape survive? No one knows for sure, but don't count the old gal out yet. Commission. The issues were raised at that meeting by Georgia Hamblin, who had Ucn passed over in her application ior the position. Hamblin accused the commission of favoring Cox over other applicants because he is the brother-in-laof Commissioner Manuel Torres. She also cited state law that says applicants must have lived in Utah a minimum of three years immediately preceding appointment, in order to qualify for the bench. Cox had lived in Moab about 20 years before he moved to Washington, D.C. to work in 1987. He returned to Moab just over two years ago. Gibson said members of the Judicial Council wondered whether the w Landscape Arch, one of world's longest, became thinner Sept. 1 Cracking, creaking, popping, cracking, snapping, falling! These sounds and actions were heard at Arches National Park on Sunday, Sept. 1. At approximately 2:45 p.m., a large chunk of rock fell out of the bottom of Landscape Arch in Arches National Park. Visitors reported having heard many noises before they saw anything, and when it was over, one of the world's longest natural stone spans was some 4.5 feet thinner. Initially, a few small rocks fell. Then, a section of rock approximately 60 feet long, eight feet w ide feet thick fell and from the underside of the arch near the center of the span. Ranger Sharon Brusscll arrived on the scene just several minutes after the rockfall. At that point, the rock was still making loud noises, as the tension and stress in the span settled into its new position. A number of visitors were in the area, and amazingly enough, no one was injured. Michael Muller, a visitor from Switzerland had hiltpd nn th; short loop trail under Landscape Arch when the sounds began. He was able to record the actual rockfall on videotape. Unfortunately, his camera and tape are the PAL type, which is incompatible with machinery used in the United States. He promised to send a copy of his tape to the National Park Service when he returns to Switzerland in about two weeks; then the NPS will have it converted to the type of video used in the U.S. Royce and Sharon Morrison of Longmont, Colo., sere standing near the beginning of the loop trail when the noise and rockfall began. Their daughter Debbie and two other visi- - tors had hiked up the short loop trail under Landscape .Arch, and were reluctant to once again venture under the now seemingly more fragile span. Morrison captured the rock in mid-ai- r on a color slide. He too will send a copy to Moab when the film is developed. Four other visitors from Colorado and Germany who were sitting on rocks near the base of the arch also saw the rockfall, and immediately began running down the hill towards the main trail. At 306 feet long, Landscape Arch was only 16 feet thick at its thickest point. With 4.5 feet less for support, it must have seemed that barely anything was holding it up. The National Park Service has temporarily closed the very short loop trail which crosses under the span twice, to protect visitors from possible subsequent rock falls. The last recorded rockfall at Landscape Arch occurred in 1941 and was reported by Henry Schmidt, custodian for Arches. In his monthly report, dated March 23, he notes that "a large boulder slipped from the north end of Landscape Arch some- time during the winter months, making the arch approximately 305 feet length instead of 291 feet." Later measurements documented the length at 306 feet. The only other main features affected by rockfalls in the past 50 years include a doubling in size of Skyline Arch in 1940 when a large boulder fell during the winter, and the collapse of a pinnacle known as "Chip Off the Old Block," near Balanced Rock, which toppled during the winter of 1975-7- 6 without witnesses. such famous formations as Delicate Arch. While Delicate's name seems to indicate a short-live- d fragility, it is probably more stable than Landscape Arch. Landscape's thin and long span certainly seems destined to fall sooner than Delicate, with two legs firmly planted in its sandstone base. Stabilization methods considered have included cement plaster or wa- terproof concrete ("colored and molded so as to not detract from the natural appearance of the arch"), a simple plaster jacket over the weak point in the arch, spraying of a colorless substance that would penetrate and bind the sandstone grains together to resist erosion and would allow the rock to expand and contract when freezing and thawing, and a concrete collar which would be shaped and colored to blend in with the natural sandstone. After many years of discussion and consideration, the National Park Service decided to let nature take her course in ". . . consideration of the uiKciidiu benefits of stabilization, (and) of the very real possibility that more harm than benefit may be done." This continues to be the policy and indeed provides endless spec- ulation among visitors and staff alike: when will it fall? WEATHER responsibility and authority for ensuring that justice court nominees meet minimum statutory qualifications foi llm job lies with the certifying body or the appointing body. "There is some question in the Judicial Council's mind as to certification, and the meaning and intent of that," he said. (Cont. on Page A-3- ) ! Redistricting hearing planned in Moab on Friday, Sept. 4th Persons in the Moab area having opinions as to how new Congressional and Legislative district should be drawn, will have an opportunity to share them this Friday, Sept. 4 at 7 p.m. The Legislative Redistricting Committee, headed by State Sen. Stephen Rees, will conduct a public hearing in the Council Chambers of the Grand County Courthouse. The Moab hearing, along with ones in Farmington, OgProvo. Originally, hearings were scheduled only on and den, the Wasatch Front, St. George, Richfield and Roosevelt. Interest in those communities brought about the cancellation of additional hearings in the urban areas to accommodate the Moab hearing and three others. Redistricting is required each ten years following official census counts, both in Congressional and Legislative Districts. The process this year has brought additional attention, since Utah's 2nd Congressional District, now served by Rep. Wayne Owens, will have to be split, since Salt Lake County is too large for a single seat. How that district will be diluted has been the subject of considerable debate. The general public is invited to attend the Moab hearand ing express their views. Sen. Rees stated that he was that interested residents from Green River and San Juan hopeful be in attendance. would County $1,796,865 in bonus bids obtained on oil & gas leases The Bureau of Land Management received a total of more than $1,796,865 in bonus bids for federal oil and gas lease rights, on 103 parcels involving 121,495 acres of land in Utah, during an oral auction held on August 26 in Salt Lake City. A total of 258 parcels was offered, amounting to over 337,826 acres of land under the jurisdiction of the BLM. Bids ranged from the minimum of $2 per acre to $525 per acre and averaged $14.78 per acre. Chuska Energy Company, Denver, Colo., submitted the highest total bid, in the amount of $230,400 for a 2,560-acr- c parcel located in San Juan County. Other high bids received included one from Spccrex Ltd. Partnership, Roswell, New Mexico, in the r" amount of $168,000, for a 1,920-acr- e parcel, and a bid from LCM, Ltd., Denver, Colo, in the amount of $99,200 for a 1,240-acr- e parcel. Both were located in San Juan County. There were 50 bidders registered, which accounted for spirited bidding. Since the enactment of the 1987 Reform Act, this oil and gas sale marked the third largest in revenues, totaling $1,796,865 for Utah. In April, $2,733,711 was collected in bonus bids. In September 1989, $1,807,807 was collected in bonus bids. In addition tn the bonus bids the sale netted $182,280 in first-yerentals and $7,725 in administrative fees. Successful bidders pay a $75 administrative fee per parcel and a yearly rental of $1.50 per acre for a ar lease term. Parcels not sold at the auction are available for noncompetitive filings on the day following the sale. On the day following the sale, the BLM received 151 noncompetitive filings on unsold parcels. Noncompetitive term leases are issued for a and require a yearly rental of $1.50 per acre for the first 5 years and $2 per acre thereafter. As with other Federal oil and gas leases, the State of Utah will receive 50 of all monies collected from rentals, royalties, and bonuses on these leases. More information ronreming the sale is available from the BLM State Office Public Room, 324 South State Street, 4th Floor, Salt Lake City, Utah, or by phoning 10-ye- ar As early as 1947, people began to debate the possibility of stabilizing Grand trailed only Washington County in employment growth in 1990, U of U study showed Grand County experience dramatic growth in employment and construction in 1990, while personal income grew more sluggishly, acindicators from cording to year-en- d the University of Utah Bureau of Economic and Business Research. And while 1990 showed dramatic growth, so far 1991 seems to be running even further ahead. Park visitation figures an indicator of traffic into the community are up buildfrom between 15 and and sales are sales tax up, ing permit and transient room taxes are also showing healthy gains over the previous year. 25, Nonagricultural employment in the county increased 10 percent in 1990 over 1989. Statewide, only County showed a greater employment increase. Bureau analyst Austin Sargent attributes the growth to development of jobs in trade, manufacturing, services and recreation. "People are going to be doing different things," he says. Construction in the county rose dramatically with new dwelling units increasing from four in 1989 to 16 in 1990, a 300 jump. Personal income in the county also grew, but more slowly than the income statewide average. to in Grand County was up 2.7 $13,670. The statewide increase was to $14,083. The county's 7.6 Washington Per-capi- ta average monthly nonagricultural wage was only a dollar more than the year before. Grand County population figures for 1990 countered the statewide trend with a decrease of 1.5 percent to 6,600. The state population grew 1.4 to 1.73 million. The trend in population, however, was in dramatic contrast to the last five years of the 1980s, when Grand County showed the largest population decrease of any county in Utah--w- ell over due to losses of in the jobs mining, milling and trucking industries. 20, The state's overall economy grew in 1990, with the strongest growth occurring in the Mountainlands, Southwest and Wasatch Front districts. "Based on the assumption that we've weathered the worst of the recession, Utah is in a good position for growth," says Sargent. ih M New . . . equipment surgical worth of laser surgery equipment. Allen Memorial has This advance in medicine has been acquired $31,000 used approximately one year in the larger hospitals throughout the country, and is now making its way to rural communities. It involves a Lapriscopc, which essentially has a 28 mm lens in it, to enable the surgeon to see what is happening inside the human body on a high resolution monitor. Dr. Gerald Howe, General Surgeon from Cortez, Colorado, shown with the lapriscopc, comes to Moab on alternate Thursdays to perform surgical procedures. Dr. Howe has instructed and is assisted by Dr. James Redd on several occasions with the new equipment at Allen Memorial Hospital. The Lapriscope is inserted into a half inch incision through the umbilicus while the abdomen is inflated with carbon dioxide as to enable easier access to the diseased organ or tissue. This new equipment will now allow patients to remain in Moab for surgery that they once had to go out of town for. It also reduces recovery time, pain, and financial worries to the patients. |