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Show MOAB, UTAH WEATHER FORECAST Thursday rt Scattered Snow High 37 Low 20 EiMjul Vlx Partly Cloudy High 38 Low 19 Saturday. '4--13 Partly Cloudy Low 24 H.gh 36 Sunday. Be our Cupid's arrow is right on target with The annual Valentine's Day supplement filled with personal advertisements. Inside not only would the Olympic Torch pass through Moab on its way to the opening cer- 5:45 p.m. Moab is hoping to be chosen as one of the selected cities to bring in the torch for the Olympic opening ceremonies to take place in Salt Lake City, said Bart Leavitt, Grand County Council member. The honor of having this But why would e an improbably list? Because high-profil- It's Winter Homecoming GCHS is celebrating Homecoming this week. See news and The T-- booster pages. A2, 4,5 Inside T he T imes Business Directory: 65 Calendar. 65 Crossword Puzzle: 67 67 Classifieds: Dining & Lodging: 63 Editorials, Letters: AS, 7 Notices: 66 Obituaries: A3 Region Review: 61 Television Listings: 62 Real Estate Weekly, inside WEATHER HISTORY - 1 2 40 17 42 15 47 21 3 50 4 54 22 58 23 47 26 5 6 Group 23 -- II i Excellence 9 Time JJ w To subscribe to The Time-Independe- nt call subscribemoabtimes.com The nt This news-pap- is er 7 X) vHy7 printed on recycled paper and is recyclable. Delicate Arch is being featured prominently operates charter air service at Canyonlands Field, California-baseCasino Air, and Sunrise Airlines, which Continued on Page A2 d ol staff writer After years of oiierating in the red, Allen Memorial Hospital is now in the black. For 2000 the hospital had a net income of approximately $200,000, said AMH Chief Financial Officer Doug Garrett. That compares to a net loss of $1.2 million for 1999. Garrett said the main reason for the the hospital elimiwas I Home lealth oic ration, and nated the costly local surgeries were up 35 percent over the previous year. We got out of the home health business. Auditors calculated we lost $650,000 in 1999 due to home health," he said. And doctors really stepjxd up and su the hospital" this year. In addition, the community was more supportive. The hospital instituted several costsaving programs that Garrett says also contributed to the reversal, though to a turn-aroun- , ' d two-fol- lesser degree. Last year the hospital eliminated its contribution to the employees retirement funds, saving will have huge s. U.S. Rep. Chris Cannon has announced $150,000 in federal funds that wall be used to improve the Canyonlands Field Airport in Grand County. The funds will be used to construct new taxilanes that will provide access to additional hangar areas. They will also be used to system to implement an erosion-contrcaused by heavy rains prevent damage by Franklin Seal h torch-bearer- Airport receives federal funding Hospital is back in black opportunity in Olympic advertisbenefits for Moab and Grand ing schemes. County, and we are really exAccording to the cited of the possibility that Salt Lake Organizing Moab will be chosen as a site Committees web site, for the Olympic torch to come the Torch Run will begin through and be able to be a part in Atlanta on Dec. 4, of the Olympics 2002. 2001, and pass through "The Grand County Coun46 states in a serpentine cil and Moab City Council journey bewould like to invite the public fore hitting Grand Juncto come and join us and watch tion, Colo, on Feb. 2, the announcements live on the 2002. That portion of the steps of the courthouse," said tour was publicly anLeavitt. There will be large nounced two months screen TVs set up to view ago, but the torchs Utah events occurring in Salt Lake the final six itinerary City, and light refreshments has days of the run will be served. been kept under wraps. Several people from Moab are planning to be on hand amid the crowd in Salt Lake for SLOCs highly anticipated announcement, which is scheduled for 6 p.m. and is expected to be carried live on Salt Lake news stations. Those representing Moab include: Karla Hancock (mayor of Moab), Saina (president of the Moab Area Chamber of Commerce), Julie Mueller (executive director of the Chamber), and Kim Schappert (chair of the Grand County Council). Saina said she, Mueller and several members of the Chamber board were already planning to be in Salt Lake this weekend attending winter sports events at Olympic venues when they heard that the Tbrch Relay announcement was going to be made. We thought, Wow! We dont want to miss that," Saina said. Of course, nothing is for sure yet, but we would certainly be excited to have the torch come through our town." People in many other Utah communities are likely also hoping that the Olympic flame will either pass directly through their town or at least along a nearby highway or road. The torch run is going to be a big deal, Saina noted at last weeks regular meeting of Moab Utah Gold 2002, the tentatively named committee that has recently banded together to help get Moab ready for the Olympics. The relay will cover 13,500 miles Runners will carry the torch and involve 11,500 for much of the way, but several other means are going be used to transport the flame, including car, airplane, train, boat, snowmobile and even dog sled. The flame will also be carried by people on horseback, bicycle, and wheelchair. Members of the general public can apply to become torchbearers. Mitt Romney, president and CEO of SLOC, said in a press release announcing the initial torch route on Dec. 4: We hope this route will allow everyone to feel like they are part of the Salt Lake Games and unite each other in the shared experience of celebration and achievement. The Moab Utah Gold 2002 committee meets each Thursday afternoon at 4 p.m. at the Moab Information Center. Meetings are open to the public. Writers Jeff Richards and Franklin Seal contributed to this story. two-mont- d Grand County and Moab City are holding an "anticipation party" Thursday Feb. 8, at Moab appear in such 31 About 20 people attended a public hearing during Monday nights Grand County Council meeting to comment on the four airlines that have submitted bids to the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to provide Essential Air Service to the area. Grand County Airport Board Chair Bob Dalla outlined the four proposals - three would provide service between Moab and Salt Lake City and one w ould fly from Moab to Denver. At Mondays meeting, the overw helm er courthouse Angeles.... and Moab. reading. Muab-to-Denv- Party is planned at tion. That list was likely to include Atlanta, Chicago, Los Noted poet to work with Moab students, give free ing majority of man iduals w ho spoke appeared to favor the projxisod route submitted by Great Lakes Aviation. The Wjonung-basecom; any operates out of Denver as a United Express affiliate, and seviral residents said having service to the larger Denver aujxirt would be a plus for the community. Other carriers being considered are Arrow West, a company that currently Waiting to unveil: Rice-Eccl- es education Feb. Feb. Feb. Feb. Feb. Feb. staff writer one year and counting and Oly fever" is on the rise even in Moab, 235 miles from Salt Lake City. With exactly one year to go before the start of the 2002 Winter Olympics, the Salt Lake Organizing Committee was set to make a big announcement at Salt Lakes Gallivin Center Thursday night. And early this week Moab political circles were buzzing with the news that Moab would be selected as one of only four or five major media focuses for the Olympic Torch Relay. That media attention could mean big gains for those seeking to boost Moabs flagging visitation figures by hitching Moab to the Olympic bandwagon. With SLOC attempting to keep the news from leaking prior to Thursdays announce bash, sources close to the action said emonies at Olympic Stadium, but Moab was likely to be one of a select group of cities on the Torch Relay route set apart for special media atten- Poetry in Jan. by Lisa Church Its Valentine Date- Public likes Denver air route Olympic torch to light up city National focus will be on Moab & Snow ww Low 23 42 High Rain Thursday, February 8, 2001 www.moabtimes.com Volume 103 Number 6 50 Recent cold temperatures have kept Ken's Lake frozen over. The ice was about four inches thick when this group of Boy Scouts ventured out on Jan. 20. Although Moab temperatures last week, the mercury was headed experienced a few days of spring-lik- e back down as storms approached the region. Photo by Jeff Richards Moab rock climber dies after Indian Creek fall A Moab woman was killed Sunday afternoon, Feb. 4 while rock climbing with friends in the Indian Creek area 14 miles northwest of Monticello. Elizabeth Ann Byrnes was pronounced dead at the scene around 7 p.m. from injuries sustained in a fall. The accident occurred around 4:30 p.m. Emergency crews responded and performed CPR on the woman as they carried her down a long trail over the talus. Authorities said Byrnes was climbing without protection in an attempt to attach a rope to an existing anchor at the top of the climb. Apparently she had chosen not to use any safety equipment of any kind, said Dep. Grayson Redd of the San Juan County SherifFs Office. Byrnes worked in the Sprouts program at the Moab Arts and Rec. Center. 90-fo- r Were on the right road, Garrett said, management has been making the right decisions. And if things continue looking up at AMH, they ought to begin thinking about a new hospital, he added I think if we have another year or two of profitability, I think we should look at a new hospital. Right now, were in a wait and see mode. But thats the longterm goal for quality health care in this area a new hospital." County makes appointments to hospital board ot Indian Creek is a popular area located on the way to the Needles District of Arches National Park along S. R. 211. The accident occurred at a climb near mile post 2.5. Grayson said that with the increase in the areas popularity, accidents are becoming more common there. Last year we had two fatalities. And we had a person critically injured in that exact same spot in November," he said. $130,000, and instituted a hiring freeze that effectively eliminated three positions. The retirement contributions have been reinstated for 2001. They also restructured some of their debt to save money going toward interest, but this did not take effect until December, 2000 so it did not have much affect on the 2OO0 net income, Garrett said. AMH took out a long-terloan of $950,000 and used it to pay off $647,000 remaining on a short-ter$800,000 loan from Central Valley Hospital in Nephi. AMH used the loan to retire remainder of the long-terto owed federal the gov ernment payments for Medicare cost settlements stemming from 1997 and 1998. The debt restructuring has saved an estimated $7,000 jx-month since it took effect in December. by Lisa Church staff writer The Grand County Council approved appointments to two boards during the regular Monday night meeting Council members unanimously followed the recommendation of the Grand County Hospital Special Service District Board in appointing Dr. Merrill Hugentobler to a r term and Ken Ballantyne to serve out the remaining two years of the seat formerly held by newly elected council member Jim Lewis. Last month, the council named Lewis to replace Ballantyne as the council representative on the Hospital Board. But because Lewis was already a board member, he was required to vacate his exit- four-yea- rock-climbi- Lyzz Byrnes, pictured above died Sunday after a fall District of Canyonlands. in a file photo, near the Needles Continued on Page A6 |