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Show H AA vVV MOAB, UTAH www.moabtimes.com 50$ Volume 112 Number 1 4 Girls State girls, Rebakah Keogh and Heather Tolley. See Hatch: 'Your work paid off." Move the piM B2 a : by Lisa Church contributing writer li The Energy Department announced Wednesday that it will move 11.9 million tons of radioactive waste off the banks of the Colorado River to a disposal site near Crescent Junction, handing a big victory to environmentalists and Grand County and state officials who spent more than a Cleaning up after Easter Weekend. Joshua Stubbs and Logan Lewis were part of the B7 crew. See Editorials, Letters: A8-1- 0 Historic Photo: B1 Notices: B4 Obituaries: A6 Region Review: B1 Sports: B1, A7 TV Guide: B2-- 3 WEATHER FORECAST v Thursday Mostly Sunny High 80 Low 34' Friday Partly Cloudy High 77 Low 43 Mostly Cloudy High 68 Low 38 Sunday Weather forecast courtesy National Weather Service Grand Junction office. LAST WEEK'S WEATHER Date HiLowPrecip. Mar. 30 Mar. 31 64 40 54 29 62 28 72 31 2 3 4 5 76 46 70 47 64 39 Moab. San Juan County hopes to revive a proposal to create a nuclear waste storage facility in Lisbon Valley, and county commissioners voted last week to send a letter to Gov. Jon Huntsman and Utah Congressional delegates asking for their support in funding for a feasibility study to explore the plan. The Lisbon Valley proposal is not new - San Juan County officials first suggested the site more than a decade ago and it was one of the state lands locations discussed by the Utah Legislature as part of a 2003 Plan B proposal. What is new is a proposal to construct a railroad spur from Cisco or Thompson Springs across the La Sal Mountains to carry the nuclear waste to Lisbon Valley. In the past, officials discussed trucking the material from rail lines near Cisco to the SITLA site. We think and we propose that a possible route could bring spent nuclear rods by rail through Cisco, through a low population area, across the Colorado River near Dewey Bridge maybe on the east or west side of the La Sals, County Commissioner Bruce Adams said Tuesday. Were trying to keep it will grand Moab with branch new of its opening a family celebration open to the public Saturday, April 9, from noon to 4 p.m. Guests can enjoy live music and entertainment, savor complimentary barbeque fare and enter several prize drawings. Kids will enjoy a bounce house, balloon animals, a fish pond, event and cotton candy. The kicks off with a ribbon cutting ceremony at noon, and will include remarks by Mayor Dave Sakrison and Moab Chamber of Commercp Board President Bob Maxwell. The ribbon surrounding the branch will be strewn with bills totaling $250, which will be donated to the teen center, a new nonprofit resource supporting healthy activities for teens. Local live entertainment will be provided throughout the day by the Taiko-Da- n Drummers, Mesa Melodies, Valley Voices, and Red Rock Stars. Were proud to be in a brand new building that allows us to better serve the growing numbers of our business and personal hanking clients throughout Moab, said Susan Larsen, Zions Zions Mostly Cloudy 7JV High 67 Low 37 Apr. Apr. Apr. Apr. cleaned up. The tailings contain potentially deadly materials including ammo- - That route would cross through public lands owned by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, as well as state and federal forest lands. Maggie Wyatt, director of the Moab BLM office, said the federal agency will accept and process the application from San Juan County to build a rail spur should the plan go forward. But getting approval would require extensive study, including the completion of an assessment of the impacts to the environment and cultural resources as well as public input, she said. Huntsman and Sen. Orrin Hatch have been outspoken in their opposition to bringing high-levnuclear waste into Utah, and both have consistently opposed proposals to build a storage facility at Skull Valley on the Goshute Reservation in northern Utah. Adams said that the county agrees with the states opposition to creating nuclear waste storage faa high-levSkull at Valley because the procility too close to large popuare sites posed lation centers and would bring little financial benefit to the state overall. San el el Continued on Page A3 Zions Bank celebrates grand here this Saturday opening mark the Bank Saturday Apr.1 et away from high population areas like by Business Directory: B8 Classifieds: B6 decade lobbying the federal government to clean up the toxic site. Perched in a floodplain some 750-feAtabove the Colorado, the Cold War-er- a mill is las Uranium tailings site the only decommissioned uranium mill near a river under DOE oversight that has not been San Juan wants nuclear waste in Lisbon Valley; governor and senator oppose the proposal Lisa Church contributing writer Inside The T imes .01 Tr. Tr. First in the Nation Banks Grand-Sa- n Juan area president. We appreciate the expertise provided by many local contractors who assisted in the building of this office. e foot Zions Banks new branch will provide Moab-are- a clients with access to a full line of personal and business banking products and ser9,000-squar- vices. The branch includes four drive-u- p drive-u- p ATM and lanes, a night depository, and expanded safe deposit boxes. The building features a large conference room for employee training and community use and a smaller conference room available for Gold Service Club clients. Other amenities include a bike rack, a community events bulletin board, original works by Utah artists, and desert landscaping from Wildland Scapes. Zions Bank is Utahs oldest financial institution. Founded in 1873, Zions has been serving the communities of Utah for more than 130 years. For more information, contact Zions Banks Additional Moab branch at is available at information 24-ho- ur 259-596- 1. www.zionsbank.com. EPA Green Power Community To subscribe to The Times-Independe- nt call subscribemoabtimes.com The Times-lndepend- This news-pap- er is printed on recycled paper and is recyclable. Thursday, April 7, 2005 nia, radon, and residual uranium, which studies show are slowly leaching into the surrounding groundwater and contaminating the Colorado River. Two recent scientific studies have shown that the Colorado River would likely eventually migrate toward the Atlas site and cause damage to the pile. Those studies also showed that a catastrophic flood event could wash the tailings into the river, carrying toxic material downstream where more than 25 million residents of neighboring states and California depend on the Colorado for drinking water. Since 1992, a collaborative group of county and state officials, backed by Utahs Congressional legislators, have worked to get the tailings moved. This is permanent. This is the decision. We still have to fight for the funding, but I think that will get easier, said County Councilwoman Joette Langianese. This is a good day for Grand County. Langianese credited Senators Orrin Hatch and Robert Bennett and Rep. Jim Matheson with keeping the Atlas issue alive. She said the cooperative efforts of Utah Governor Jon Huntsman and the states Department of Environmental Quality as well as the Environmental Protection Agency - who last month told the DOE that capping the tailings in place was environmentally unsatisfactory - were instrumental in convincing the DOE to relocate the tailings. All the delegations worked together. It just sent a big statement, she said. The fact that we got this decision and this kind of funding in this area is really amazing. Its really going to impact our economy in a very positive way. This can only be good for the people of Grand County. In 1992, County councilman Bill Hedden wrote the first letters to Congress and the DOE urging action to relocate the tailings away from the then-Gran- d Colorado. Since that time, Hedden, now executive director of the Grand Canyon Trust, an environmental group that supports getting the tailings moved, has almost tasted victory only to see the federal government back away from promises to move the tailings. Wednesdays announcement was especially sweet, he said. Our democracy works slowly sometimes, but frequently we end up in the right place. This was a roller coaster, Hedden said from his office in Arizona. I actually cried this morning when I got the call. I surprised myself with that reaction. Everyone who worked on the issue should be proud, he said. This is a great example of how local government, the community, environmental groups and.states can link up to do something good for the Colorado River, he said. Its a happy day for evd erybody. This took huge public involve-Continue- on Page A3 County will work with BLM on priority project funding by Carrie Switzer The Bureau of Land Management has overcome hurdle number one' in funding the acquisition of a conservation easement near Westwater Ranch, and asked the Grand County Council to support its bid through the next hurdle the federal appropriations committee. We are one of seven BLM projects that made it into the presidents budget, said Maggie Wyatt, BLMs Moab Field Office manager. Our number one priority is to purchase 14 acres for a Westwater Ranger Station, and number two is to be a party to a conservation easement that includes 530 riparian acres. The local BLM office has requested $1.2 million for the project. Other parties to the purchase of a conservation easement could include the U.S. Fish and Wildlife and a Colorado rancher who would run livestock and provide employee housing. Were really excited that were one of seven projects being considered and we think its because we had support from the city and county governments, said Mary Von Koch, also of BLM. Were hopeful the county council will contact not just our representatives, but the whole Utah delegation, and lend your support again. The council voted unanimously to send a letter of support for the project to the Utah congressional delegation. In another of many unanimous votes taken during Tuesday nights county council meeting, adoption of the comprehensive Trail Mix master plan for Grand County trails was tabled to allow the council to hold its own public hearing on the plan. The Trail Mix committee has held hearings on the plan and advertised its publication for review, but council member Rex Tanner noted that before colored maps were available it was difficult to follow the legend and delineate where some of the potentially controversial trails are. Trail Mix committee member Dave Stolfa said he and County Road Supervisor Dave Warner had agreed to most of the plan, but noted there was still disagreement in one or two areas. Warner was unable to attend this weeks meeting. Id like to table this until Dave Warner can be her, because I know he raised some concerns during the meetings I was involved in, said council chair Jerry McNeely. Changes have been made in the plan since the draft was released, and Tanner asked that those changes be identified in writing. He and other council members noted they are generally favorable, and thanked the volunteer Trail Mix committee for all the work put into it. This will be a great tool, said council member Jim Lewis. It allows for the expansion and development of trails, and a better trail system with loops. New trails, better design people will be able to find their way back. There is some disagreement yet about a section proposed for use near the Klondike Loop and a section on non-motoriz- Continued on Page A3 Moab student eligible for national forensics competition Grand County High School junior Cooper Henderson took first place at the Utah State Forensics Competition held at Dixie College March 18 and 19. Baker placed sixth so Cooper had to beat out both of them. ' Other Cooper competed in extempora- neous speaking where he defeated over 100 competitors. Schools have more than one speaker in this category. Some of his toughest competition was from his teammates. Chase Clyde placed third and Andrew students who also did very well were Stock Emily placing second and Kimber Parry and Chase Clyde each taking third place. Debate Coach Hal Adams I said, Cooper is a national competitor. He has competed in two national invitationals and won. He won at the 5A competition in Taylorsville. Extemp, the contraction for extemporaneous, is a seven-minut- e speech on international and domestic policy topics. The speaker gets a topic and has half an hour to prepare the speech. Cooper gave four speeches, one each on President Bushs eco nomic policies, National Social Security policy, Democratic Party leadership and the Supreme Court Justices. If GrandCounty School District had the money, Cooper would be able to compete at the national forensic competition. Eighteen students qualified from Utah and Cooper beat two of them. As a team Grand County actually beat five of the 18. Cooper explained that the entire team did amazingly well at state competition. But as he said, The great achievements this year were going to national invitational tournaments and oppobeating the nents. We went to Stanford and to Arizona State. While we dont have the funds for the national program, we do have the talent and the coaching to take top-ranke- d |