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Show Page B6 Heard Around the West Thursday, August 19, 2004 tEfre Barrel racers run back to Old Spanish Trail Arena and scenic Moab area On Sat. Sun., Oct. 30-3- 1 Racing in the Rockies will return for their third year of the Arches Winter Series of barrel racing at the Old Spanish Trail Arena in Moab. For the past two off seasons barrel racers from Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, New Mexico, Idaho and Arizona have converged on Moab with hopes of winning prize money and awards, while basking in the natural beauty of the Arches National Park and Canyonlands and enjoying the spectacular surrounding community. The Arches Winter Series runs from October through April of each off season and brings hundreds of contestants and their families to town each weekend. Typically contestants arrive in town on Friday evening, compete on -- by Betsy Marston, regional news analyst ARIZONA Maybe it was amazement and disbelief that caused a motorist to call the cops: The white car ahead of her had the words U.S. Forest Service emblazoned on its side, but the driver was throwing lighted cigarette butts out the window in the middle of a hectic fire season. The driver turned out to be the media liaison for the Forest Service on the Willow Fire, a woman with the delightful name of Paige Rocket. Cited for criminal littering, a misdemeanor, Rocket has since left the area, reports the Payson, Ariz., Roundup. Rocket told the paper shed been unthinking, careless and in a hurry, and that she was ashamed of her actions. She also said: If citizens worldwide were as caring and protective of their community as the citizens who reported me, this world would be a very different place. THE INSCRUTABLE WEST Interior Secretary Gale Norton must have been non- plussed recently when she met pop star Jessica Simpson. According to The Atlantic Monthly, when Simpson was introduced to the secretary of the Interior, she complimented Norton, saying, Youve done a nice job of decorating the White House. ARIZONA Police thought a crazy person was slashing the throats of 20 horses over a period of months at an Arizona guest ranch. But no, reports The Week magazine: An aggressive male horse was attacking other male horses. When the perpetrator was removed from the herd, the slashings stopped. He acted alone, said Deputy Sheriff Dawn Barkman. MONTANA Thanks to a cellular phone, two children on vacation in the Paradise Valley near Livingston, Mont., were able to call for help when the field they were standing in filled up with rattlesnakes. Izzy Effler, 13, and Morgan Beadwell, 12, had walked up a hill to call friends in Loveland, Colo., when a rattlesnake lunged at Izzy and another turned up under Morgans feet. Then it got really snakey, reports The Associated Press: Six rattlers moved in around them. Izzys father and his nephew got the girls call for help and managed to pepper some of the snakes with a pellet gun; that cleared the area. Later, a rattlesnake trapper, Rusty Juhnke, checked out the scene and said he saw 0 snakes on the ground. He said the childrens timing was 25-3- Saturday afternoon, spend Saturday night enjoying the Moab nightlife and compete again early Sunday morning before leaving town for the weekend. The barrel races consist of a Womens Pro Rodeo Association (WPRA) Divisional Tour race which is open to females over the age of 18 years. In the WPRA DT contestants vie for prize money which Can be used toward filling their professional rodeo permits. The Arches Winter Series also tends to be something of a proving ground for contes tants who are interested in returning in the summer for the PRCA rodeo. Many top WPRA contestants come monthly to the Old Spanish Trail to compete. Spectators might witness such big names as WNFR qualifiers Leanne Wolfe, Becky Carson and Barbara Merrill trying their hand at Arches Winter Series competition. The Western Slope Trailer Sales Open 4D barrel race is triple points approved through the American West 4D national barrel racing association. This race is open to all barrel racers of any age and gender. Contestants need not be members of the AW 4D to compete and no non member fee is ever charged. There is $500 cash added to each days Open race prize money with National Shootouts to the AW4D Regionals and AW4D National Finals being awarded to average winners as well. Savvy Sport Saddle Youth 4D competition is also offered to contestants under age 15 as of Jan. 1 of the competition year. The Spanish Trail Shell Senior 4D is open to contestants who have reached their 50th birthday as of race day. Both these classes are ap- proved for triple points through the AW4D association. A Pee Wee division is also unfortunate: The snakes were shedding and more irritable than usual. UTAH Color my border collie pink. the Business v-- y BONUS BUCKS ARE BACK! A airplane single-engin- e carrying 500 gallons of reddish slurry to fight a fire near St. George, Utah, dropped it instead on a neighborhood below the mesa-to- p airport, reports the AP. The backyard looked like Pepto-Bismwas everywhere, said one resident. The biggest makeover came to nine houses, which instantly turned pink and ol goo. A downdraft apparently dripped with the fertilizer-base- d caused the air tanker to drop as low as 150 feet before the pilot dumped the load to avoid a crash. Resident Graff Harlan described the scene as something right out of Dr. Seuss. But the hoses to blush was temporary: Fire crews used clean off everything from cactus gardens to vehicles. WYOMING AND MONTANA Do not disobey any laws while visiting Yellowstone. Thats one lesson learned by Hope Clarke, a teachers aide, a who was slapped with ticket when she forgot to put away her e chocolate and marshmallows while camping in the national park. Then a year later, while returning to Miami from Mexico on a cruise ship, Clarke was rousted out of bed by customs officials at 6:30 a.m., handcuffed and told shed neglected to pay the $50 fine for her food infraction at Yellowstone. Clarke insisted that shed paid the fine before leaving the park. But the federal database said the fine was outstanding, so off to the pokey she went, reports the AP. Almost nine hours later, Clarke got her moment in court, appearing in leg shackles and in tears, and there a judge apologized to her while producing the citation against her, marked paid. The judge has asked the U.S. attorneys office to investigate its shoddy IDAHO It must be mighty quiet in rural Bonner County, Idaho, judging by some of the items culled recently from the daily police dispatch log: Suspicious person: Possible fight reported. Investigation found Ultimate Frisbee game in progress. And another: Dog complaint: Officer responded to a report of a dog locked in a vehicle with the windows rolled up. The air conditioning was on; the dog was fine. Betsy Marston is editor of Writers on the Range, a service of High Country News in Paonia, Colorado. Tips of Western oddities are always appreciated and often shared in the column, Heard around the West. high-pressu- re on Selected Motorcycles & ATV Models continue to spend the extra money just to come to Moab. We are really just hoping to stay at our current entry numbers this winter. The Moab Area Travel Council, Red Stone Inn, Big Horn Lodge, offered to those racers not quite ready to enter Youth competition. PeeWees may ride alone or be lead on foot or on horseback. All the PeeWees are awarded prizes for ing. Rustic Inn, Spanish Trail The WPRA DT is a straight format barrel race with the fastest time being declared the winner. The Open, Youth and Senior races are all on a 4D format with the fastest time being the ID off the winner, exactly fast time being 2D, being 3D and 1.500 and slower being 4D. In this manner both professionals and beginners alike have a chance to win prize money and awards. In the past the Moab community has been very supportive of the barrel races and has stood behind the efforts of producers Terri Gold and Denneane Northcutt in this endeavor. The business community has been really supportive in helping us put on a quality event by helping us raise the added money to make these races as successful as they have been. Our contestants stay in the area motels, eat out in the restaurants, enjoy the nightlife at the local clubs, movie theater and really marvel at the spectacular national parks. All year long at other races we have contestants tell us how much they are looking forward to coming back to Moab, Northcutt said. With the rise in fuel costs and the sluggish economy fewer and fewer contestants are competing across the country. Weve seen a drop in entry numbers all across Colorado, Utah, Nevada and Wyoming as well as hearing about it nationwide. Its really a tribute to the Moab community for us to say that our entry numbers actually increased last year over the first year. People come to Moab and love the area and see the support we get from the community and Shell, Rockin X Ranch as well as Smittys Golden Steak and Pasta Jays have all been back to town. Without the community support we simply couldnt afford to produce races of this magnitude. Northcutt added. At Racing in the Rockies event contestants are given calling cards to sign and leave with participating sponsors. The cards are then collected and used at the barrel race to draw for door prizes. In this manner were encouraging our contestants to patronize the sponsors, and the sponsors are more aware of .5-.9- 1.0-1.4- our contestants spending money in their establish- ments. Its really a win-wi- n for everyone. Northcutt said. Racing in the Rockies will still accept a limited number of sponsors for the 2004-0- 5 Arches Winter Series. With the goal of getting each sponsor the most bang for their buck the number of dining, lodging and other establishments is limited. We really want our contestants to patronize the sponsors who support us and we go to great lengths to make sure that our sponsors are making money on our event. Northcutt said. The scheduled dates for the Arches Winter Series are Oct. 30-3- 1, Nov. 27-2- Jan. 8, March 2005, Feb. 6 and April Spectators are welcome and encouraged to attend. There is never a charge for admission. For more information on the Arches Winter Series or to become a 2004-0- 5 sponsor see websitethe. 29-3- 19-2- 0, 5-- 0, 2-- 3. - . )fat www.RacinglnTheRockie&eom or call Terri Gold at ld bear-pron- irtTmrt-fKrTTf- l fjBbfe UtayCniMtiaitno ffjMjfigEnB Dont Delay! record-keepin- HORTDA BEST OH EARTH www.honda.com BE A RESPONSIBLE RIDER ALWAYS WEAR A HELMET, EYE PROTECTION AND PROTECTIVE CLOTHING AND PLEASE RESPECT THE ENVIRONMENT. FIXED OBEY THE LAW AND READ YOUR OWNER'S MANUAL THOROUGHLY. "6 9 APR financing up to 36 months through Amencan Honda Finance Corporation upon approved credit Payment example 36 monthly payments of $30 83 for each $1 ,000 financed. Offer good on ATVs and motorcycles Offer ends August 31 , 2004. 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