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Show utamsjh V1 I Aaa v IS Vv ESSD MOAB, UTAH www.moabtimes.com Volume 112 Number 12 50 WEATHER FORECAST Thursday Mostly Cloudy High 54 Low 38 rrr Friday PT' Mostly Cloudy High 58 Low 33 Saturday. Partly Cloudy High 61 Low 33 Sunday ' Partly Cloudy High 65 Low 35 Residents duck and cover as four wheelers, spring breakers descend on Moab and environs by Carrie Switzer Tuesday afternoon before Easter in Moab likens a calm before the storm. Moab residents can feel the growing energy toward the pinnacle of Jeep Safari seats Week, but there are still front-roto view the antics at Potato Salad Hill. Chief Deputy Sheriff Curt Brewer said the department is already busy with medical calls and rollovers. One arrest w Weather forecast courtesy National Weather Service Grand Junction office. Kyler Bernal. for driving under the influence of alcohol was made on Sunday when a jeep rolled over on Potato Salad Hill and caused in- juries. We havent seen anything over- whelming yet, Brewer said Tuesday afternoon. Its to be expected. Things will start picking up Thursday. Four patrol deputies from Weber . Continued on Page A2 Sunrise Service Planned in Arches National Park What is he so pleased about? See page B4 Grand County Latinas. The churches of Moab would like to take this opportunity to invite everyone to attend the annual Easter sunrise services held at the La Sal Mountain Viewpoint in Arches National Park. The service sponsored by the Association of Christian Churches in Moab will begin at 6:00 a.m. The service will include special music, Easter hymns, readings, Scripture recitations, a short Easter message and an offering to be given to the needy who pass through the Moab area. Travel time to the viewpoint is roughly 15 minutes from Moab. Parking is limited so those with handicaps should arrive early to obtain the close-i- n parking. The national park will not charge admission to the park for those who leave the park by 9 a.m. Those wishing to remain in the park later than 9 a.m. should plan to pay the entrance fee. Featured in Latina magazine. Seepage m Vf-- B7 jJ contributing writer Grand County Council members Inside The T imes Business Directory: B9 Classifieds: 68 Editorials, Letters: A8-- 9 Historic Photo: B1 Obituaries: A4 Region Review: B1 Sports: B1&3 TV Guide: 62--3 LAST WEEK'S WEATHER HiLowPrecto. Mar. 16 59 27 Mar. 17 61 41 Mar. 18 61 34 Mar. 19 62 40 Mar. 20 Mar. 21 Mar. 22 56 39 56 32 64 30 -- --Tr. .34 Tr. -- Judy Carmichael and Joette Langianese traveled to Washington D.C. last week in a final push to convince Bush Administration officials and Congress that almost 12 million tons of radioactive waste must be moved away from the banks of the Colorado River. Notices: B4 - Armed with fresh support from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Utah Department of Environmental Quality, as well as findings from several recent scientific studies, officials from Utah and California told members of Congress during a briefing convened that the by Rep. Jim Matheson Cold War-er- a Atlas Uranium mill tailings pile must be relocated to a safer place. Officials from the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California told members of Congress that the current location of the tailings, perched on the riverbank 750 feet from the Colorado River, threatens the water supply for more than 26 million people who live downstream, in California, Arizona, and Nevada, according to an Associated Press report. You cant consider our water supply safe if those are in our headwaters, said Dennis Underwood, vice president for Colorado River resources at the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. Its public health thats endangered here. The comments were not new, but the briefing gave concerned officials a rare opportunity to speak directly to congressional representatives from across the country, including those who will decide funding allocations for the Atlas cleanup project, Langianese said Monday. Moab Sterling Scholar Seirra Dickerson takes English award When the final announcement was made at the Sterling Scholarship Program Tuesday evening at the College of Eastern Utah (CEU) Grand County High School (GCHS) had one winner and three runners-up- First in the Nation EPA Green Pnpr Commumtj First Place in Four Categories yr, J, Ki sV To ' atom ThaTbnM- - - - subscribe to The Times-Independe- nt call subscribemoabtimes.com The This nt news-pap- is er 7X) Xl)y7 printed on recycled paper and is recyclable. Becca Webster has been coming to Moab since she was six years old. An avid she now drives professionally for Red Bull. Photo by Carrie Switzer Langianese, Carmichael take Atlas Tailings story to nation's capital, again; lawmakers' interest growing by Lisa Church Date Thursday, March 24, 2005 . The winner was Seirra Dickerson in the English category. Dickerson is a strong writer who took advantage of the many programs offered at GCHS to develop her ability. She was a founding member of Quills, a member of Readers Anonymous, a participant in workshops with Terry Tempest Williams, Ellen Meloy, Sharon Bryan, Brooke Williams, and several other Moab writers. Dickerson also gave back to the writing community through these clubs and activities as well as her involvement in Jobs Daughters and editing Incendium, the school literary magazine. The runners-u- p were Deserae Hulce in Foreign Language, Geneava Francis in Social Science and Kara Anderson in General Scholarship. Hulce and Francis convinced the judges they were not only outstanding scholars in their category, but also had strong leadership skills and had made significant contributions to their communities. Anderson did this plus showed that she was without noticeable weakness in any area, which is the descriptor for the General Scholarship category. a The challenge we see is that all of these entities back East have similar concerns and problems, but not enough money, she said. But none of those problems is as big as ours. And were hopeful that we can convince them we need these funds. State and local officials are hopeful that the federal government will commit the money and resources needed to move the tailings, Langianese said. It was a very successful week. We just continue to increase awareness of this issue around the country and to try to ensure everyone in Congress understands the importance of dealing appropriately with the tailings, Langianese said. Last fall, the U.S. Department of Energy released its draft environmental impact statement outlining four possible e alternatives for cleaning up the Atlas site. Three alternatives involve disposing of the material offsite, either at Klondike Flats or near Crescent Junction, or transporting the tailings either by truck or slurry pipeline to the White Mesa Uranium Mill south of Blanding. 130-acr- by Jeff Richards contributing writer foAlthough last weeks adults-onl- y rum on sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) was sparcely attended, local school officials believe it was a step in the right direction toward educating students and other members of the public about the risks involved. The two-hoevent, held March 17 in the high school auditorium, was attended by around two dozen people, half of whom were school or health officials. Tim Lane, STD program mahager for the Utah Department of Health, conducted the presentation. He was joined by Ryan Wilson, UDOHs health program specialist. Lane, who presented thje same information to the Grand County Board of Education several weeks ago, reiterated that Grand Countys chlamydia rate in 2004 was nearly three times that of the state average. The county had 22 confirmed cases of chlamydia last year, 14 of whom were aged Lane said, cases of three gonorrhea adding that were also reported in Moab last year, all ur Other schools in the area also posted wins: Becky Brice and Angelina Whitehorse were winners in Foreign Language and Visual Arts, respectively. Whitehorse attended GCHS until her senior year when herfamily moved to Blanding. One Monticello student, Liesl Continued on Page Af - - - Sparce crowd attended school district sessions on dangers of diseases sexually transmitted females ' GrancJ County High Schools Seirra Dickerson won the Sterling Scholar award in English in competition held at the College of Eastern Utah. The DOE is also studying the feasibility of adding a protective cap to the tailings and leaving the material where it sits. A fifth alternative taking no action is also included in the report, but DOE officials have long said it is not a viable solution to the problem. The EIS draft released November 8, puts the cost of capping the site at about $166 million, far less that the $249 million projected earlier. The price for relocating the tailings now ranges between $329 million if the contaminated material is trucked to Klondike, and $464 million to transport the material through a slurry pipeline to White Mesa. Those projections are also down from initial dollar figures released earlier. Regardless of whether the toxic material is capped in place or moved away from where it currently sits on the banks of the Colorado River, ground water cleanup will cost about the same about $10.75 million for design and construction, and $906,000 annually to Continued on Page A5 15-1- 9, in aged 15-2- 4. The numbers just keep rising, Lane added. We just want to get the word out. A lot of parents wont talk to their kids. Although much of the same information is already being taught in secondary schools as part of the regular Utah Core Curriculum, the states STD modules are more condensed and direct. Lane said that currently just two high schools in Utah (Roy and Bonneville) have UDOH officials come and give the presentation to students each year. At the GCHS meeting, both the and middle-schomodules 45 minutes (around each) were presented, each in the form of a computergenerated slide show. Wilson first went over the middle school version, which essentially explained what STDs were, how they are contracted, who is at risk, along with the signs and symptoms of the most common forms of STDs. A few illustrations and photographs were shown, including one of a uterus in- high-scho- ol ol Continued on Page A3 |