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Show (papn0tqpPipipiiqpA "WTtnrBfa'p'fc gflan;iir.gnT. Thursday Partly Cloudy High 46 Low 17 Friday Mostly Cloudy High 47 Saturday Sunday Low 18 Mostly Cloudy High 47 Low 17 Mostly Cloudy High 44 Low 16 Fish in La Sals have dreaded whirling disease Pathologists examine cutthroat trout in Geyser Ditch For the first time Myxobolus cerebralis, the whirling disease parasite that attacks the cartilage tissue of the head and spine of young trout and salmon, has been confirmed in the southeast portion of Utah near Moab. Utah Division of Wildlife Resources fish pathologists have confirmed the presence of the parasite in cutthroat trout from Geyser Ditch, a small stream in the La Sal Mountains that flows eastward, from Utah into Colorado, said Chris Wilson, fish health specialist at the Divisions Fish- A reward has been offered for persons who have information about vandalism on the Sandflats. The fee booth has been shot again. Page B5. by Ken Davey staff writer A federal judge in Salt Lake City has decided to wait until Feb. 1 before ruling on a request by Country Garbage Service to prohibit the city from canceling its hauling contract with the company. Unless the city and company strike a deal to end the agreement, CGS is likely to continue picking up Moab residential and commercial refuse for the next three weeks. Following more than a year of what city staff characterized as inadequate In their largest land preservation deal to date, Utah Open Lands has accepted a conservation easement protecting over 3,000 acres of ranch land along the Colorado River close to Moab. Working in tandem with a Colorado land trust, the Mesa County Land Conservancy, the entire ranch totaling 32,000 acres will forever be protected by conservation easements. The ranch controls roughly 100,000 acres of federal range land and constitutes the largest private holding in what is known as the Dolores Triangle. As Utah continues to grow at an unprecedented rate, many of the states most dramatic landscapes are becoming the most threatened according to the Utah Land Trust. It is a delicate balance the state must maintain between growth and development and protecting the very things which have promoted that growth and development, chiefly its ranching heritage and scenic beauty. This conservation easement achieves part of that delicate balance, commented Wendy Fisher, executive director of Utah Open Lands. The landowner, wishing to remain anonymous, donated the conservation easement to Utah Open Lands at years end, protecting the land in its ranching state forever. These transactions are always more complex than one thinks, remarked Fisher regarding the year-lonprocess. In actuality the landowner The numbers are in and yes, visitation was down in 1998 g the night during 1998. In Canyonlands National Park, all sections, visitation was down by only .9 for the year. A total of 436,524 people visited in 1998 compared with 432,697 in 1997. Island in the Sky accounted for over half of that sum, and visitation at the Island was slightly up from the previous year. A total of 253,329 people visited Island in the Sky in 1998, compared with 160,764 at the Needles, the second most popular visitor destination in Canyonlands. A total of 112,062 people made overnight stays in all sections of volume 106 Number 2 service, the city council voted last year to terminate the contract. Since then, say staff, the situation has not improved. According to city records, there were more than 230 complaints about the service from residents and businesses from early November through early January. CGS said the city was violating the companys right to due process by void ing the contract, and asked Judge Dee Benson to issue an order to stop it. A hearing was scheduled in federal court for Monday. But instead of an actual hearing, the judge met privately with attorneys for the city and company. The judge indicated he was disinclined to grant Country Garbages motion for an injunction, but said he would delay a ruling until Feb. 1, said City Manager Donna Metzler. He encouraged the parties to engage in a settlement. If, in three weeks, no agreement between Moab and CGS is made, and if the judge denies the CGS motion, then the city has plans to hire Bobs Sanitation on a temporary basis to pick up trash. According to city staff, the cost will be k $13.50 per month per household for pickup. Thats about $3 per month once-a-wee- Utah Open Lands inks its largest land preservation agreement yet 6. The final numbers are now compiled, and as was expected, visitation at Arches National Park for 1998 was down slightly from the previous year. A total of 837,161 people visited Arches in 1998 compared with 858,525 in 1997, a decrease of 2.5 for the year. December visitation contributed to that decrease, with only 10,541 people braving the cold to see Arches with snow on the rocks, compared to 11,485 in December of 1997. Although visitation at Arches was down slightly in 1998, overnight stays at the park were up 5.2 for the year. A total of 49,995 Arches visitors spent Was it a case of mistaken identity in the Dolores Triangle? Officials in helicopters swoop down on artist Nik Hougens desert camp. Page B1. Easement will protect 3,000 acres Wilson said that communications with Colorado Division of Wildlife biologists confirm that fish testing posi-- . tive for the whirling disease parasite were stocked by that state into Buckeye Reservoir as recently as 1995, raising the possibility that the infection has spread upstream and over the border, into wild fish in Utah. The finding of more heavily infected fish and deformities closer to the border is consistent with this theory, Wilson said. Symptoms of fish infected with the whirling disease parasite include a whirling behavior and a black tail. Fish that survive the disease may develop deformities of the head, or twisted spines. For more information about the confirmation of whirling disease in Geyser Ditch, contact Wilson at (435) t "-- Judge to decide garbage issue Feb. impounded in Buckeye Reservoir, which is stocked with rainbow trout. over 1997. ryrwp yilHlyllllWlliyll Serving Moab and Southeastern Utah Since 1896 eries Experiment Station in Logan. Wilson said that Geyser Ditch is managed as a wild cutthroat stream in Utah, with no additional stocking. However, a short distance away in Colorado, the water from the ditch is. Canyonlands, up 4 Mp ''PI jiTHagfl Thursday, January, 14, 1999 752-106- 0 500 1 more than the CGS contract price of $10.55. The city council is expected to agree to pay the difference. That means customers will continue to be billed $10.55 and the city will pay out of its treasury $2.95 per customer per month. Long-terthe city has two choices: Operating a sanitation department themselves or going out to bid to find for private company. Later this month the city council is expected to review bid specifications. The council's decision is likely to hinge on what kind of response the city gets from the bid process. Split vote will allow alcohol at the MARC City grants $20,000 for skate park project by Ken Davey staff writer The Moab Arts and Recreation Cen- ter will be allowed to host private gatherings where alcohol can be served. At its meeting Tuesday evening the city council voted 2 to allow the practice for a trial period. Voting in favor of the motion were Richard Cooke, Joseph Lekarczyk and Bill McDougald. Voting against were Kyle Bailey and Dave Sakrison. The city has a policy of prohibiting d alcoholic beverages on property. But the MARC advisory board recommended that the policy be waived at the facility, to allow the city to generate revenue from private, events such as weddings. In other business, the council voted to allocate, during its budget process, $20,000 toward building a skatepark in town, at a location yet to be chosen. In favor were Kyle Bailey, Richard Cooke and Joseph Lekarczyk. Against were Dave Sakrison and Bill McDougald. The skatepark idea, promoted by an Continued on Page A2 3-- one-ye- This 32,000-acr- e ranch, situated on the UtahColorado border along the Dolores and Colorado rivers, will be protected in its current state, protected by conservation easements, according to the Utah Land Trust. donated five separate easements, each tailored to specific aspects of the ranch land or operation, she explained. More and more landowners are useasements as one of the conservation ing tools available to them in estate planning. As real estate values in Utah skyrocket, many ranching families are faced with the potential forced sale of their family lands just to pay the inheritance taxes. Some families are simply not aware of the choices they have when -- making decisions about passingon their lands to the next generation. There can be tremendous tax benefits for the landowner in donating a conservation easement, explained Fisher, But most landowners choose to place their land under a conservation easement simply because they love their property and, as stewards of the land, want to do something to insure it remains intact. This was indeed the rea son behind this generous gift, concluded Fisher. Utah Open Lands works with landowners and communities throughout the state interested in protecting remaining ranch lands and Utahs quality lifestyle. The organization is committed to finding n solutions and contends that all of the easements they work on are voluntary, almost entirely initiated by landowners. Protection of Utahs sense of place, is at a critical crossroads, explained Utah Open Lands Chairman Desmond C. Barker. We will never have enough dollars to protect all of the treasured landscapes in the state, and it would be a mistake to remove those landowners who have e been stewards of the lands A love. easement conservation they win-wi- ar city-owne- long-tim- Continued on Page A2 With Y2K on horizon, is it time to start stocking up? by Franklin Seal staff writer So youve read a few articles about the year 2000 computer crisis. Youve been hearing about it on the radio, on TV. Youve talked it over with your friends. But you still dont seem any closer to knowing what to do, or whether to do anything about it at all. Join the club. Y2K, as it is called, is a complex problem, and trying to get a fix on it can be frustrating. Depending on who you talk to its either not a problem, or its time to start selling your stocks and stocking up. According to managers at several local utilities and key businesses and agencies, theyve got everything under control. And some of the facts bear them out. Then again, its difficult to get many specifics to. back up their calm assurances. A case in point: City Market. City Market If City Market one of the biggest suppliers of food for Moab residents POOR COPY was impaired for any length of time because of Y2K problems, many Moabites would be in dire straits. Its thoughts like these mm. Year A that have led some to stockpiling food, planting bigger gardens and putting money in their mattresses. The grocery store is part of a chain A Karen Varshock has been with City Away 3 A. if WJ v: & Wi'-i! v'jl Market for six years, and as an project manager shes been working on the technical end of their Y2K assessment and remediation since early in 1998. These days, it consumes almost all her time. Typical of those at many corporations who are actually on the of 42 stores spread across four states. And that chain is one of a number of chains owned by grocery giant, Kroger, Inc. The Moab City Market is just one node in a complex system involving in- technical end of Y2K remediation, Varshock was reluctant to discuss specifics and referred those questions to a ventory control, warehousing and reall of it managed stocking operations networked by computers. When asked any specific questions about his stores Y2K preparedness, the local store manager could only refer the questioner to company headquarters in Grand Junction where all of City Markets Y2K issues are being handled. public relations handler. Varshock explained that City Market had spent quite a bit of money on Y2K efforts to date, but would not reveal even approximately what that amount was, though she stated she knew. She said that City Market had a list of approximatelyl2,000 items that it would test for Y2K compliance or had 7' v already tested, and that the list was updated regularly. But she would not say how much of that list had been checked to date. Zions Bank Moabs Zions Bank was equally reluctant to give information. Those at the local branch office referred questions to Stephen K. Thomas, senior vice president, at company headquarters. In a phone interview Tuesday, Thomas would only say that Zions had tested mission-criticsystems at a place called Comdisco in the eastern United States, and that they had tested satisfactory. He also said the company had a deadline to replace all personal computers in their branch offices al nt by mid-summ- But when asked how big was their list of items they were planning on testing, and how much of that list had been checked, Thomas replied, How meaningful is that to anybody? It doesnt help anybody to understand whether were 90 Continued on Page A2 'V |