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Show Page S' T: Thursday, October 19L 2000 imrs-Juiiqjniftc- ut Hiker returns after 40 days in the wilderness Area-Wid- e rA tllic B1 Week in Review Walkabout takes Items from regional newspapers by Franklin Seal staff writer Arsenic in the water?... Nephi The Environmental Protection Agency may require the City of Mona to monitor its culinary water system for arsenic. So far, Monas source is not a concern for arsenic, said Doran Kay, Mona City Council member. The EPA has a list of some of the towns that need to be concerned about arsenic in their drinking water and Mona does not appear on the list anywhere. When we start operating the well, we will be pulling underground w ater into our system. Perhaps then we will be subject to arsenic monitoring. The Times-New- Ted Olson, a member of Manti Citys Utility Board announced recently that the city sustained an high peak in electrical consumption on Aug. 15 at 3 p.m. when the community drew a record 5,677 kilowatts. The total energy consumption for August was also a record reaching 2,626,049 kilowatt hour. The power usage spike represents a 41T increase in energy use over a year ago, and marks a change from past patterns. all-tim- The e Messenger-Enterpris- e Wild horse killer sentenced ... for shooting a wild horse last in the area, about 30 miles west of Swasey Springs September Delta, was sentenced Oct. 1 to serve more than five years in federal prison. A federal jury found Kevin Binks, 33, of Spanish Fork guilty of ten counts of maliciously harassing a wild horse causing the death of a wild horse and illegal possession of a firearm after a felony conviction. He w as also convicted of six counts of lying to a law enforcement officer and a grand jury. Millard County Chronicle Progress Delta The man responsible Activists sued for trespassing ... Tooele An activist, a Tooele chemical weapons incinerator whistleblower and a Fox 13 TV reporter are being sued for trespassing on property where decontaminated chemical agent munitions were being stored. The lawsuit, filed two weeks ago in 3rd District Court by the owner of the Golden Eagle Oil Refinery where the munitions were kept, accuses the three of trespassing, filming and taking samples from inside some of the hundreds of munitions piled up at Goldens storage yard. Tooele Transcript-Bulleti- morning LeCompte entered the office of Times-lnd- is obtaining Cortez, Colo. If the U.S. Forest water right for the San Juan National a federally reserved, Forest, fishery habitat on the lower Dolores River would stand to improve, biologists say. More water is needed downstream of McPhee Dam than the 40 cubic feet per second now being released, said Mike Japhet, fish biologist for the Colorado Division of Wildlife. Securing a water right that could never be diverted would benefit river and riparian habitats on public lands, he said. Cortez Journal e pendent, unshouldered his large pack, set down his chest-hig- backh walking stick and told his story. For 40 days, the Moab man had walked in a great loop. It began in the North Fork of Mill Creek Canyon, ran across the spines of the La Sal, Abajo and Henry mountain ranges, and ended back in Moab. All day Thursday, and all Thursday night he sat high above Moab on the rim over the Portal Trail contemplating his journey and the tow n below', preparing to cope with civilization. Friday morning he walked into town along Highway 191, celebrated with a monster breakfast at Dennys, then headed straight to the local newspaper to announce his return. The toughest thing he encountered during his entire journey, he said, was the shock of reentering the busy world of man and his machines. It was defi Moab man through three mountain ranges ld JZZT whats this? to say, LeCompte is no stranger to hiking das on end, alone in a a.--t wilderness Nine years ago the d Canyon hiking guide completed a four-mont- backpacking trek of the Four deserts the through Corners area. Afterward he wrote a book titled, Southwest Circle Quest, A Walkabout in the 1,400-mil- e American Outback" published by Canyon Country Publications. Friday, he said he is going to call the trek he just completed the Lacolith Trek 2000, though he does not think hell w rite another book. The word lacolith is a term geologists use to describe certain types of mountain ranges and uplifts all three ranges he crossed are lacolithic. Though hes not planning a book, LeCompt said he does plan to create a slide show of his journey and hopes to present it at a local venue sometime this winter. Though there were no mishaps or close calls on his trek, he said, it did have its moments of adventure: swimming out of a flooded slot canyon at a place called The Black Hole, scrambling up The Crack to get out of Historic pictures of Moab & Grand County Have a picture you would like to share ? Submit it to The Times-lndepende- nt be key to roads fight ... Ruling ritay is about to card in a San Juan County play trump Blanding its battle with the federal government over road ownership. Last week, County Planner Ed Scherick told the county commission he feels a recently discovered ruling by the Interior Board of Land Appeals, made on June 8, 1981, may get the attention of the federal government. In the ruling, Administrative Judge Bruce R. Harris commented that, ...the question of the establishment of a public highway under the Act of July 26, 1866 ... otherwise known as R.S. 2477, is ultimately a matter for the state courts..." While the comment was made in hearing a case to one the Scherick told he is feels this commissioners county pursing, is construed what as a state laws is under that highway proves the same as under RS 2477. If so, that bolsters the countys case against the feds and may help force the issue into court. The Blue Mountain Panorama 7,400-foo- Grand Junction, Colo. Missile time near Green River. the Pershing . . missile was tested Developed near Temple Mountain Junction south of Green River for several seasons. Deployed in Europe with troops of the U. S. Army and Federal Republic of Germany Air Force, the rugged, reliable Pershing with its massive, mobile firepower, played a major role in the defense of western Europe during the cold war. From the launch site south of Green River, the Pershings were fired to the White Sands Missile Base area in New Mexico. T--l File Photo in 1 96 ', truck-mounte- d a Announcing the opening one of the four legs Ixtwccn resupply points. His goal in setting out on the trip w as to steep hniM If in nature, and for that, solitude is best. Its the vistas that I get, and just the immersion m nature. From the look in his eves, 40 days in the wilderness appeared to have done the job t asphalt runway at Bryce and no one was injured. Had it not been for the existence of the small rural airport at Bryce Canyon, the story could have ended in tragedy, participants noted. They told of other stories, including three incidents at Hanksville Airport since the late 1940s. At Hanksville, the parade of planes that landed Oct. 7 was part of a group of planes flying between rural airports this month to demonstrate the need to keep rural airports open. Among the pilotspeak-er- s was E. J. Jake Gam, fomer U.S. Senator and astronaut, and a native of Richfield. Often rural air ports require forms of federal and state assistance in order to survive. That funding is distributed by the state legislature. Often too, having a rural airpoit strengthens the economic vitality of towns and entire regions. Many pilots noted how im- portant these small rural airports are to those in need of a landing site, be it a major airline or a lonely pilot lost or running out of gas The funding for improvements and upkeep to these airports is directed by the State includLegislature. The ing the visit to the Hanksville airport are designid to raise awareness of the need to keep small airports alive. TTie Utah Dept of Transportation the maintains Hanksville airport. It was built in the mid 1940s by the Federal Aviation Administration The airport helped the local power company obtain an emergency power generator and brought telephone service to the town. Homes originally used to house the nine families who worked at the airport were moved to a variety of locations in the Hanksville area when the fami lies were no longer required to live at the airport. Some have been absorbed into the local fly-in- school district and are being used as housing for teachers or as lunchrooms or storage re hi ms a LiLlLnbiLiLlLlLlLnLlLlLnLlLlL-lLlllLnLlLlLlLnLlLlLlLlL-1 MOAB DENTAL HEALTH CENTER ff U ff Cat civili Pilots fly to Hanksville to champion the cause of rural airports 0 d Jim Gostlin though he was alone on most of the loop, he did have the company of a friend from Jackson, Wyo. on lines MD-8made an emergency landing on a flight from Denver to Los Angles. The airliner was cruising with some 70 persons plus the crew. At 8:45 a.m., smoke and fumes filled the cockpit; the cabin pressure began to fall. But the pilots and crew landed on the Man confesses to murder... & the Robbers Roost box canyon, and wading across the Green River near Mineral Bottom. LeCompte claims hes not a hermit he teaches kids backpacking and outdoors skills, and he guides trips for a living. And On Oct. 7 a group of more than 80 Hanksville area residents gathered at the Hanksville Airport to greet a group of 15 pilots in small planes who had flown there as part of a statewide action to save rural airports in Utah. If anyone required a graphic demonstration of the value of rural airports, Bryce Canyon Airport, just the day before, proved its worth when an American Air- Price The net loss of 1,000 jobs in Utahs mining division reflects the layoff of more than 300 coal miners due to the fire at Willow Creek. The mines subsequent closure cost more than 200 jobs at the local level, according to the latest statistics compiled by the Utah Department of Workforce Services. Sun Advocate A Grand Junction man confessed wife his to and two kids in Littleton, Colo, first recently shooting in 1978, and to pushing his third wife off a Grand Canyon cliff in 1993. Authorities went to the house of Robert Merlin Spangler recently after they learned he was dying and he confessed. Friends of the man say he has told them he has six months to live because he is dying of lung cancer. A Phoenix grand jury indicted him last week for the 1993 murder at the Grand Canyon. He was arrested and extradited to Arizona. He reportedly told his questioners that he killed his first wife and kids because it was easier than getting a divorce and that he pushed his third wife off a cliff because he was tired of family life. Daily Sentinel Brett LeCompte says the toughest part of his trip was zation. Photo by Franklin Seal by Barbara Ekker Hanksville correspondent Mine closure impacts labor... non-relate- SHI nitely rough this morning walking past the uranium pile and all the construction and traffic. I w as feeling like an anachronism, me looking at the people driving by and them looking at me as if A Look Back in Time n Water rights could protect fish... successful in Service Brett Friday The s City blasted with big power bill... Manti He walked into the office with fiery eyes, a deep, reddish tan and a beard. The skin around his eyes show ed the telltale signs of long exposure to w ind and dry, desert air. He looked like a man who had just spent 40 days in the wilderness. In fact, he had. 38-year-o- ff E Good news! ff We are hiring an additional DVM Lou Gostlin RVT n ff n TT are looking or someone who is friendly and putgoing . . , someone who loves to work hard. If you are interested, please contact Joy We 125 E. 300 S. Nit3 259-537- MOAB imm i j iff n hi Ln Li Li in in Li Li Li l--i Li li l--i lh li in Li l--i i- -l li in 8 i in in l--i CtIH l-- rj |