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Show Page Area-Wid- e Powell draining fans debate ... Vernal At the 12th Annual Uintah Basin Water Conference, Dr Richard Ingebretsen faced a tough crowd as he led an informative discussion on the benefits of dranung Lake Powell. The doctor voiced numerous arguments that the sediment in the lake is growing rapidly and, in 70 to 100 years, will eventually fill the lake, that much of that sediment is toxic material and has to be dealt with, to protect endangered species, to uncover natural beauty, which Ingebretsen says would rival the grandeur of Arches He also pointed out some powerful reasons for preserving Lake Powell, to prevent the loss of recreation and lake based economics, the loss of flood control and the loss of power generation capacity Vernal Express threat causes evacuation ... Mt. Pleasant Students and faculty at Wasatch Academy were roused out of bed, neighboring residents were evacuated, and the campus was surrounded by law enforcement officers last week after the headmaster received a bomb threat from an anonymous male caller No bomb was ever found. The 5 am. wake up call was believed to have been made from a drugstore in California Based on statements made by the caller, it sounded as if he might be a former, disgruntled student bent on revenge The Aland Messenger on bike trail heats up ... Hearing Sevier proposed bike trail m Marysvale Canyon has A Sevier County residents up m arms abJit private property rights, trespassing and law enforcement. The Utah Transportation Commission announced last June a $766,400 grant to help build the trail, so the county's share adds up to about $50,000. Neighboring Piute County also received a grant to further the trail and possibly, some time in the distant future, connect it to the Fremont Bike Trail The project is awaiting the approval of the Federal Highway Administration and construction is still a year away. The Richfield Reaper came by boat ... Expert: Settlers The traditional human that the Colo. Cortex, migration theory, first inhabitants of North America came from Siberia across the Bering Strait, is under fire. Cortez archaeologist Bruce Bradley has joined Smithsonian Institute Chair of Anthropology Dennis Stanford m refuting the traditional theory. They propose that those early settlers navigated from Europe by boat, cruising along the receding edge of a glacier in the North Atlantic. The Cortes Thursday, February 24, 2000 nbrpmbcnt death sentence, Scott Joseph right-of-wa- County 1 Saving himself from a possible Member of the San Juan Economic DevelopBloomfield, N.M. ment Service met recently to discuss the Bureau of Land Management's y rental fees for a future plan that would drastically increase fiber optica project. The project 1 planned to run from Grand Junction, Colo to Albuquerque, N M over a stretch On the New Mexico side of the state line alone, the BLM fee could increase from $2,000 a year to over $300,000 annually. The huge jump in rent, if implemented, could cause the project to be disbanded The Four Corners Business Journal Bomb (Thtifs-3- by Layne Miller, Editor Emery County Progress Concerns over BLM proposal ... 400-mil- (Tic Slayer pleads no contest in Emery County ambush e Week in Review j I B1 MemlL who killed an Emer County road worker by shooting him eight times in the bat' as he tried to flee, pleaded no contest on Thursday to aggravated murder In exchange for his plea, 7th District Court Judge Bryce K Br ner sentenced the foimer Spokane, Wash, postal worker to life in prison w ith the possibility of parole fo killing Charles Watterson on Oct 29, 1998. along a remote section of dirt road 12 miles south of Green River The case was moved fiom Castle Dale in Emery County where Merrill has remained in jail to Price in neighboring Carbon County after Merrill's attorney, Kenneth Brown, was granted a request for a change of venue With his arms and legs shackled and dressed in a bright orange jumpsuit, Merrill, 30, sat through Thursday's proceedings As Bryner directed a litany of 32 questions to him designed to see if he understood the meaning of his plea, Merrill answered yes to all but one When Bryner asked if he understood that what he did in shooting Watterson constitutes aggravated murder, Merrill said, I can understand why the state would " Bryner said Merrill had deprived the Watterson family of its patriarch." It was a senstless and despicable act, said Bryner I can only hope that the family car bring them bves back U igether U ci and eventually understand why it happened Two mem- bers of the Watterson family who attended Thursdav's hearing said they share the same Scott Joseph Merrill hopes Wattersons daughter Kim Scarbrough, West Jordan, said the fam lly has mixed emotions about the plea agreement I w as prepared to fight this to the end, but I can also see it would be nice to get it over with," she said Son Lonnie Watterson of Dallas said he does not like the idea of Merrill possibly getting out of prison on parole, but it might be the best they could Hope for We are hoping he will be in prison for a ng time, he said, adding his mother, Myrna Watterson, has been having health problems ever since receiving word of her husband's death Merrill ambushed Watterson as the 64 year-olcounty worker 1 d graded road that connects the small town of Green River to the a Maze District of Canyonlands about 50 miles to the south Once Mernll started to shoot, Watterson apparently jumped out of the grader and tried to keep it between himself and Merrill, but despite the effort he was 6hot eight times in the back Wattersons body was found by another county worker the next day lying in a ravine near some lip balm, pocket knife and his uneaten lun h a A LOOK BACK IN TIME Courtesy of the Dan Museum County pride in gun ownership and hunting. Thats why their support for a proposed legislative bill that would ban concealed weapons permit holders from carrying a gun inside a school or church is so surprising. Not everyone agrees with the ban. One citizen voiced his opposition saying, "Its just a political gimmick. What people really don't want is shooting in schools. Thats the problem we need to address. The Wasatch Wane Arrest warrants issued in slaying,,, The Montezuma Colo. Sheriff's issued Cortez, County Department an arrest warrant for Matthew David Gray in connection with the recent shooting death of Kenneth Wayne Dugan III. The investigation is still open, and law enforcement officials are still following leads. The warrants issued in this case have been sealed by District Judge Sharon Hansen, as there is information in them that would hamper the investigation. The sheriffs office is refusing to provide any additional information. Cortes Journal On Feb 16 , members of the Clinical Safety working group of the Community Coalition for Safe Schools (CCSS) made a presentation to the Grand County School Board This presentation was the culmination of months of work bv many law enforcement, fire and sc hool officials An Emergency Procedures Checklist has been prepared by this group for use by teachers and other staff of all of Grand County's schools The Emergency 1iocedures Checklist covers incidents ranging from fires, severe storms and earthquakes, to bomb threats, weapons in school, and intruderhostage situ ations It also describes actions to take and command procedures in the event of an emergency Moab Fire Chief Corky Brewer, chair of the Clinical Safety working group, said the staff members and the students of our schools deserve to have all the help they can get w hen an emergency anses This checklist tool to help a teai-heis a step or administrator work through an " emergency situation Feb On Friday, 25, a district-widteai her's in service will take place High School and Middle School students are being released at 12 45 p m , K 6 students at 1 p m Members of the Clinical Safety working group and school principals will make presentations on the purpose and use of the new checklist In a related matter, several CCSS members attended a Schixil Violence Workshop in Salt Lake C itv on Jan 13 . and funded by Utah's Comprehensive Emergency Management and the Utah Safe Schools Consortium, there were over 20 different sessions to choose from, including Gangs 101 Rural Perspective, Physi cal Security, Bomb Threats and Expin sions, Managing a Critical Incident at a School, Character Education Programs, and EmotionalBehavioral Reactions to Disasters Community members attending ini luded Tom Brown, Tom Edwards, Margaret Hopkin, Kaaron Jorgen, Mike Navarre, Peggy Nissen, Steve Ross, Jim Webster, Rob Welch and Mike Wder Yl Fast getaway . . . The many springs and hidden canyons of the Moab area made the art of making illegal moonshine a relatively easy proposition. This still on wheels was particularly fast on the getaway. The photo was taken in 1920. Dan O'Laurie Museum photo from the Howard Balsley collection EnjoyffieLnewj'West'of Broadway" show with Tom r e im & Green River after motel workers notified police he fit the description of the suspect wanted for questioning in the killing As part of Thursday's plea agreement, charges against Merrill of aggravated robbery, criminal mischief and escape were dropped Last year Merrill briefly escaped from the Emery County Jail Emergency procedures checklist is completed for Grand Co. Schools by-ste- p Journal Residents support gun bam,, residents are known for their Heber Wasatch While searching for Merrill, police found several camps he had set up in the desert and on the banks of the Green River The camps were stocked with military rations, ammunition and a pistol with an interchangeable barrel that was later determined to be the murder weapon Merrill was arrested two days after the murder at a Motel 8 in Clark Hinkley Zions Bank, Cheryl Enkinson, Moab and Beverly Sorenson, A R T S Inc at recent awards ceremony Left to right Moab teacher receives state arts award A RTS, Inc (Artistic Resource for Teachers and Students, lru ) is proud to announce the winners of the Stutewide Outstanding Arts In Education Teachers competition The awards ceremony was hi Id in January Sixteen winners were i ted statewide, including Cheryl Jenkinson of Helen M Knight In termediate School in Moab This statewide competition was open to all eduiators, grades kin dergarten through sixth Ajiplu ants applied personally or were nomise-le- nated by other individuals Entries were judged on artistic merit, ere ativity and educational structure District and Regional winners were chosen from nominees in every school district in Utah Founded in 1961, A RTS ,Inc , is a not for profit arts in education organization that involves Artists, Business and Community Leaders, School District Fine Art Specialists, Parents, Teachers, The Utah State Office of Education and interested individuals collectively working toa gether on behalf of Arts tion Currently, ARTS, Inc spun sors 16 different performing arts groups Last year, A R T S , Inc provided 350 programs reaching over 200,000 children throughout Utah Colleen on Sunday afternoons from 5-- 7 p.m. f- .Fhserables Fiddler on the , SouthPqcTfiO Iih mPsggaJha oimsagaA Ww takw It's your station for music, community events, interviews & FUN, 89.7 FM & 106.1 FM Helping to keep Moab RADIOACTIVE! . I T - V r -- r ra 4. f , i V - S w-- iiMtian'fc'r.fi-a- n1 Jim HishtQwsr Newt every cfey af Noon Job Service report Wed. 10:00 Humane Society on Tue. 10:0 |