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Show iiiT'WW iwu. x A2The Thursday, November 24, 1994 Times-lndepende- Letters and opinions from our readers Community Comments By Sara Taylor Thanks to busdriveis had occasion this week, in visiting with a colleague in the urban press about our similar roles, to reflect on just how dissimilar those roles Eire. The big difference, I concluded, is how personal news coverage is in a small community, when compared to working in the city. Urban reporters and commentators do a good job in untangling the threads in a complex news story. They interview in the cases of crime, law enforcement people, victims of crime, sometimes perpetrators of crime, and with a little more difficulty, members of the judiciary and the penal system bureaucracy as they bring us the story. We in community journalism do much the same on a smaller scale. The big difference is that we know the people involved and count many of them as personal Mends. Such was the case this week in the tragic killing of a fine Four Comers area lawman, Roger Coursey, who we knew both as a professional, and as a friend. During Rogers eight years working with the Moab City Police Department and Grand County Sheriffs office, we had many occasions to interface with him in his official capacity. Later, we had a closer relationship, when Roger and his wife, Karen, leased a small office space from us to conduct a sales outlet for Rogers exquisite woodwork. He even had a hand in rebuilding a wooden baby crib for us one that was actually used by me back in the olden days, and which has since been used by some of our grandchildren. That landlord-tenan- t relationship was a very positive one. Adrien and Karen performed together as members of Valley Voices, Moabs premier singing group. Details of Rogers death aside, anger at a sick penal system cant be shoved out of my mind. Chief suspect in the shooting of Sheriff Roger Coursey is Mark Allen Vredenburg, who was paroled from the Utah State Prison last June, and never bothered to check in with his parole officers. Most disgusting was a statement from a spokesman from Utahs Department of Corrections that Vredenburg, who was first jailed in 1987 on a somewhat minor offense, had been paroled several times over the years, and violated parole every time he was paroled. Why didnt they just throw away the keys on this many-tim- e loser? As he was continually brought back to prison, it only stands to reason that sooner or later, he would become desperate enough to get involved in some heavy-dut- y criminal activity. That apparently happened late last week. The new management in our Congress is making it federal sound like they intend to call back the recently-passe- d crime bill, and work it over to place more emphasis on, apprehension and punishment, and less on prevention. At this point I cant help but wish them well. Judges who slap wrists rather than impose harsh sentences: penal authorities who continue to place hardened criminals back in society, might get the message from an angry Congress. You can be sure are a lot of us out in the constituency who also want to send such a message. si- tin fact, the big city press is full of criticism of the judiciary. From Tuesdays Tribune (regarding a murder suicide family violence incident): West Jordan police arrested William Clarke, 39, for domestic assault and intoxication in July 1992. But West Jordan Justice Ronald Kunz suspended a jail sentence with a warning to stay away from his wife. It was the first of three times Kunz handed a suspended Jail sentence to Clarke. I wont comment on these cases, said Kunz. I will not put the justice system on trial. Yeah. Meanwhile another three children have no mother and no father. Somebody ought to put the justice system on trial. Another case? Well, Redbook Magazine has an expose in judges including its November issue on one from Utah, 3rd District Judge David Young. We havent seen the magazine, but have read in detail coverage of Judge Youngs order to a woman divorce not to move out of state to insure that the children would be raised in a good Mormon environment. philosophy here, its anti judiciary (This is not what religion they must teach their children.) telling anybody Well. . . reform in the judiciary is a movement that comes around from time to time. Seems like it was just here, but maybe its time to revisit the idea! I 5-d- ay anti-fema- le so-call- ed anti-Morm- The Times-lndepende- nt (UPS Entered as Second Class Matter at the Post Office at Moab, Utah under the act of March 3, 1897. Second class postage paid at Moab, Utah 84532. Official City and County Newspaper Published Each Thursday at 35 East Center Street, Moab; Grand County, Utah 84532. Postmaster: Send change of address to: The P.O. Box 129, Moab, Utah 84532 1 5 or FAX (801) (801) 6309-200- 0) Times-lndepende- 259-774- 259-752- tt Read All About your home town in the Grand County School District bus drivers for making the Moab Outdoor Education (MOE) fieldtrips this fall a re- ality. Thanks to them, students in grades 6 went to various locations in Arches National Park to leam about natural and cultural history though hands-o- n activities. I recently attended an national workshop and heard over and over again how many educators find fieldtrips difficult, if not impossible, to have due to lack of transportation. It reminded me of just how fortunate we are in this community to have complete local school district support by providing buses for the Moab Outdoor 2-- Education program. Thanks again, Christine Beekman MOE coordinator Arches National Jark Thanks for your help Dear Editor, As I sat glued to the television on election night, I thought a lot about what had happened to me last year. As many of you know, I was stabbed in a robbery attempt at the Super 8. 1 have had a lot of healing to do both mentally and physically. I am not the only one victimized that night. I may have felt the pain but we all felt the fear. The greatest question being who and why, but also who and when or if it will happen again. My right and your right to live freely without fear had been violated by someone who had no respect for life or rights. On behalf of myself and my family, I would like to thank everyone who stood by me and my family and also for voting for the Victim's Rights Amendment. When our government doesn't act for the law abiding citizens and the criminal has more rights than the people, something needs to change and it did thanks to high voter turnout. Grand County, I'm told, had a very high percentage of "yes" votes for this amendment. I'm glad to see that you, like me, will not be victims again. I Times-lndepende- nt Should we remain as we are with grades K-- 3 at Red Rock, and 6 at HMK, or should we at both Red have K-- 5 (or K-Rock and HMK? The Grand County Board of Education has received a number of requests to consider establishing neighborhood schools. The Board; has asked members of the staff to consider the advan4-- 6) tages and disadvantages. Tuesday, Nov. 15, these Juan issues in your mail once a week local news TV guide nt, P.O. Box 129, Moab UT 84532 (Effective Date Nov. Name Salt Lake City Moab Salt Lake City Moab if. Cash 4 enclose $1 6.50 or $24 for one year or $32 and $47 for two years Check out to Lynn Disch of Disch Funeral Home for the wonderful care which he took of my mother and also the many people in Moab who sent cards, letters of condolence, flowers, and food for the family. There is no place like Moab and that is solely due to the people who live there. I'm very happy to be living back in the area again. Again, thanks to everybody. Sincerely, Jerry W. Crist community were invited to attend the HMK meeting where they were given the opportunity to say what they would prefer. A similar meeting will be held at the Middle School on Nov. 29th and a concluding meeting on Dec. 6 at the Red Rock School. Anyone unable to attend these meetings may submit in writing their ideas or preferences on this issue to the Grand County Board of Education, 264 South 400 East, News that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is not doing the studies we expected on the Atlas tailings pile is really no news. We have heard various comments a this year tending to indicate the NRC wasnt planning to do much ne W work, but rather that it planned to look at the old stuff again. The question then is: "Just what dos constitutor'll11 Environmental Impact Statement." The answer is hetoricdl, in that there Eire very complete guidelines as to yhat material ' must be included in an EIS. x I word "friend" file Eind use Our friend neighbor, Atlas, (and hard these here guardedly), has been working very past months to see that NRC approves the old 1979 EIS work rather than looking seriously at the proposEd to move the tailings pile. Documentation follows from the minutes of the Utah Mining Association environmental committee meeting held May .25, 1994 in Salt Lake City. The guest speaker was RichEird Blubaugh, whose subject was the status of the Atlas uranium mill tailings stabilization project. Quoting from the minutes: "He (Blubaugh) requested this opportunity to meet with the committee because Atlas has reached a barrier in its attempts to communicate with the various agency people, the governors office, and DEQ (Department of Environmental Quality) over the past year. The issue became politicized when the Grand County government county commission to a changed from a council at the beginning of 1993. Atlas had good relations with the previous commission, which let the NRC and the state conduct their own business. Now the new council's approach to the NRC on this issue is that they don't think what was done in the past was correct and they want to revise it." Before continuing with these minutes, I would comment that one of the reasons for the change from a council was the very fact that the commission to a old commission seemed perfectly happy to turn their heads the other way regarding whatever Atlas planned. Continuing with the next paragraph of these minutes: "Mr. Blubaugh believes Atlas' only choice is to counter to politics with politics. Atlas has a very small staff on-sihandle this problem. No group has come forth to champion their cause during the past year and a hsdf, and he is seeking help from the UMA (Utah Mining Association) members during the review period for the draft EIS coming out in October. He asked particularly for a few rational statements to support the NRC conclusions Euid to refute statements from others who are biased against them. Blubaugh, according to these minutes, stated that "a $100,000,000 tailings removal reclamation project with its attendant payroll would provide stability to their (Grand County) economy for many years." He said sdso that "The site is viewed as a prime future development target for condos, hotels, a convention center, etc., and, therefore, local opinion is against turning these 150 acres over to the government with te reclamation." Maybe there is some truth there, although I can't really find it. More likely a bunch of conjecture. Blubaugh is welcome to his opinion, just as others are welcome to theirs, as long as everybody owns up to opinion being just that. The clincher is the following (we assume that the meeting minutes were correctly taken Eind they say): "Atlas Minerals has a new controlling owner. The financial burden of the uranium mill tailings stabilization project is a disincentive to growth of the company, which may face litigation, potential bankruptcy, and loss of 200 jobs at its Nevada operations if the company goes under. Mr. Blubaugh stated that Atlas could not survive the high cost of the alternate plan. If it becomes a defunct company and the site attains Superfund status, legal issues will extend the remediation time to 20 years Eind public funds will be required. All of the above may be true. But since the new controlling owner of Atlas is a Canadian company, and since Atlas has some millions of dollars in escrow for cleanup now, one wonders about the actual vulnerability of "Atlas Minerals." No doubt public funds will be required for cleanup, whether the government's share is the old 55 figure or the new 65 one that Blubaugh presented at this meeting. And in terms of probable litigation, I would be willing to bet that Atlas would file the first of the suits which would keep this matter in court for years if things don't go exactly the way they want. The big, fat bottom line, as they call it, for Grand County is what is right for Grand County (not for Atlas, not for 200 jobs in Nevada, not for real estate agents and land developers). The Grand County Council is to be commended for the action it took earlier this month to protect our interests. Jewelry ' ll.a nifeP Rues Pottery Kaoonas Baskets Sand Pawiings Sculpture The Board has indicated, "Our goal is to determine what the community and staff feel tire best for students." UtahSs Largest 8l Finest Selection First South & Main - MoabUT 18 Call Please check in 30 minutes prior to flight Failure to do so may result In forfeiture Of your seat. can fly from Moab to Salt Lake for as low as $138.00 round trip. 1994) Inti Moab j Salt Lake City Moab Salt Lake City Tlrre 9:10 a.m, 10:40 a.m. 4:20 p.m. ,s 6:10 p.m. or Alpine Air, Tours, for reservations and information Restrictions apply. All airfares are subject to change without notice. $138 round trip airfare is an advance purchase fare. Call .j 1, Tag-A-Lo- 259-894- 6, r in-pla- ce Moab, UT 84532. Time 8:10 a.m. 9:40 a.m. 3:20p.m. 5:10 p.m. JOs&srt Address. Phone. Norman, Jean Posey, Alex Leech, and the many, many other people who sat at my mother's bedside during her hour of need. Special thanks also should go Taylor SALT LAKE CITY MOAB SCHEDULE to: Times-lndepende- Dear Sam and Adrien: This letter is to express my deep gratitude for the care and love shown to my mother in the last days of her life at Allen Memorial Hospital. As you already know, my mother, JoAnn Crist, passed away in Moab on November 4 after a long bout with cancer. I have lived all over the country, from Alabama to Spokane, Washington, and in none of these places have I ever experienced the type of care, love and compassion that the people of Moab showed for my mother in her last days. I especially want to express my thanks to all of my mother's many friends at the Moab Baptist Church and particularly Sue Batchelder, Diane J8y Adrien Joint Fares Available through Delta, Continental and American Airlines. Subscribe Now! The Thanks for compassion By planning ahead, you special features lots of ads Hwiail Pam Peterson East Carbon City Trails FLY TO SALT LAKE CITY ON ALPINE AIR $5 discount for persons 62 and older upon request for 52 news-fille- d would specifically like to thank the Moab Police Dept, for their hard work and patience with me and helping me sleep at night, especially Mike and Becky, you're the best. And the management of the hotel deserves thanks for not only caring about me, but especially for my kids and seeing they were taken care of. The Tony Martin family is to be thanked for long term babysitting on extremely short notice. But most of all. Sue, for doing whatever you could no matter what and my sweet Danny for never leaving my side. I'll never have to worry about being alone again. And thanks to everyone in Moab for the kinds words and minimal amount of stares when I was bandaged up. Thank you, Public input is sought on lineup of local schools thoughts were presented at the first public meeting for parents at Red Rock Elementary and their input was invited. On Nov. 22nd, members of the The $16.50 Green River, Grand & San $24 per year outside area Dear Sam and Adrien, I would like to take this opportunity to extend my sincere thanks to Verna Shumway and J Many BAGGAGE POLICY: A passenger is allowed two (2) bags up to 40 lbs. free. Additional charge over 40 pounds. A bicycle must be in a box and will be $30 each way, or $60 round trip. AIR FREIGHT: For pickup and delivery, contact Redtail Aviation, 1 . 259-742- t i ... ... $ t'4j f f 3 ! i |