OCR Text |
Show 4iSYtNG MOABrANttSOUtt MOAB, UTAH Volume 109 5C WWW.moabtimes.com Number 29 WEATHER Petitioners want FORECAST by Lisa Church staff w riter A petition to alter the sue of the Thursday Isolated High 104 Low 69 Friday Isolated High 101s Low 69 Saturday Partly Cloudy High 103 Low 63 Grand County Council w as turned in to County Clerk Fran Tow nsend last week, but it is unclear whether the initiative will be included on the Nov 5 ballot. The ballot initiative seeks to reduce the council from seven to five members, and to make all council seats seats, eliminating & Sunday Isolated High 104 Low 69 at-lar- Junior golf Deep cracks in the mud are evidence of an extremely low Colorado River. Photo by Lisa Church ci 130 local youth enjoyed Moab Golf Club's Junior Golf. A tournament concluded this summer's program. See results in Sports 4 Outdoors section. B4 Get ready for 24th of July Drought doesn't dampen boating business much water truly is life, severe toll on everyone. This second indrought takes a Times in stallment a ! ndependent series explores how the drought is impacting industry, economics, and quality of life in Grand County. n the West, where by Lisa Church staff writer A couple of local activities have been planned for Utah's Pioneer Day, July 24 The Dan O'Laurie While ranchers and farmers struggle to survive the extreme drought that has crippled much of the state, one industry that depends on water for its livelihood is going strong. Some Grand County river outfitters are having a good year, despite all the national attention focused on low water and fires in the West. Were doing about as much business as last Tours. year," says Bob Jones, owner of Its probably affecting our y and multi-da- y trips somethe but what, percentage is small - one or two percent." The Colorado River, explains Jones, still offers plenty of fun even in a year when water levels are near historic lows. The low water does affect the thrill factor of some river the daily" section segments of the river, a stretch from Hittle Bottom to Takeout Beach along State Route 128, is running at about 1,600 cfs (cubic feet per second ), compared to typical flows of about 8,000 cfs at this time of year, according to U.S. Geological Survey streamflow statistics but Jones says it has not dampened the enthusiasm ofhis customers. Its not a trip right now, but we havent had any complaints," Jones says. We just Tag-A-Lon- g one-da- Canyon Country Museum is hosting its annual ice cream social, and the DeadHorse Motorcycle Club is planning a monlight ride Inside B1,B7 The T imes 13-mi- Business Directory: B7 Church Listings: B3 Vacation Planner B5 Editorials, Letters: AS-- 9 Historic Photo: A2 Notices: B6 Obituaries: A4 Real Estate: T- Extra Region Review: B7 -l Sports: B1-- 4 HI8TORY Qst8:tirJi:lsw:BrsciQ. 11 uly 12 uly 13 uly 14 uly 15 uly 16 107 71 -J107 68 -J- 108 65 -J- 109 74 -J- 106 78 -J- 101 74 Tr. StWSft TSmTStm- - l wm t fi To subscribe to The - Continued on Page A3 WEATHER July Thursday, July 18, 2002 Times-Independe- nt call subscribtmoabbinMxoni 7he Trms-tndepend- This news paper la printed on recycled paper and is recyclable. 30R COPY 5-mem- county council ber but state election a eel lam pi ret nt agi ol voters from a inajontv of the eountv districts must have signed m or lit tor tite initiilive to go bttoie v eiti s tins fall lo meet that stall et dard Jk ret lit oi tht t ligiblt els in t at it oi at it a- -t tool ol the eountv s districts including at il elistnets, must havi m'iiuI ballot initiative council districts Supporters gathered 642 signa tuies, but 64 were thrown out be cause they were duplicates or the v signer was not a registered otei dur 2000 the gubernatoiial i lection mg two signatures were tossed becau-- e the names are not Grand County residents law requites that I r 1 v I The remaining 576 signatures are more than enough to qualify (he t ugt-coun- Continued on Page T2 Life hangs in limbo as Hang Dog fire rages in the La Sals by Janet Lowe staff writer jor run to the north into Hammond Late Sunday night w inds brought smoke from fires burning in the La Sal Mountains into the homes of residents in Spanish Valley and downtown Moab. As evening winds steadily increased and swamp coolers sucked in the smoky air, residents were alarmed that the fire was nearby. Indeed, the odor of the fire was strong enough to think the house next door was on fire instead of a portion of the La Sals Canyon largely due to a windy thunderstorm that moved through the area on Tuesday afternoon No structures are at risk in the Ah.yos national Type lilt m tnagt merit team will la- coming liom Alaska to work on the i tpidlv grew A 1 ing blazes T pe I tt am-- , ar i In ought Continued tnfP.ige 2 The fire, located eight miles ryorthc tst of La Sal, has tagged the Hang Dog Fire. It was started by lightning strikes which occurred July 14 in the afternoon as an isolated thunder cell moved through the area. What started as a small blaze quickly grew to 500 acres, then This aerial picture shows smoke from the Hang Dog fire billowing skyward as flames eat through to 2,000 and the last dry timber on the eastern slope of the La Sal Mountains Photo courtesy DaveEngleman. BLM report is that approximately 6,500 acres are burning on the eastern slope of the La Sal Mountains. The fire is within five miles of Highway 46 near the Colorado borOn Sunday, July 14, the day the Canyon Complex (Hang Dog and Hammond) fire der but near La Sal it remains fur336 fires began nationwide. started, ther away from the highway and Since fires have been reported in Grand, San Juan, Emery and CarJuly 4, homes. It is moving east and south lL-e- n Fire Facts: 50-5- 5 toward Buckeye Reservoir. For management purposes, the Hang Dog fire in the La Sals has been combined with the Hammond fire burning on Elk Ridge in the Abajos near Monticello to form the Canyon Complex fire. The Abajo Mountain fire is estimated at approximately 4,200 acres. The fire has made a ma bon counties. On Sunday, July 14, 10 new fires started in those counties. There are currently seven wildfires burning in Utah. Since Jan. 1, there have been 514 wildfires in Utah consuming 200,405 acres. Nationwide since Jan. 1, there have been 49, 061 fires consuming 3,459,577 acres The peak of fire season is yet to comlMd already the number of acres burned is near triple the average. By the first of July, nearly (bred million acres burned across the country; the acres. average is about 1 1 Source: NatonelJUiency Fire Center 10-ye- rrf4 10-ye- Vandals damage Ken 's Lake , again Police officer into a nearby ravine, Senng said the investigation is ongoing. The BLM is offering a reward for to were Lake Kens Improvements information that leads to the capture made this winter through a cooperative of the vandals. Sering urged anyone agreement between the BLM and Grand with information to call includsaid the County. Sering changes, or the a phone the Moab BLM office, ing signs, developed campground, and ask to speak to a ranger and restrooms, may have angered some local residents who mistakenly believe the BLM is now charging foes for swimming, fishing, and other activities at the lake. But the agency only charges fees for overnight camping, Sering said. Ironically, the only damage was to the areas most often used by local residents," he said. Its sad. We put all that time and effort into the place, and this really takes away from all that. Its just senseless." In the recent round of destruction, vandals knocked down the restored Kens sign near the swimming beach. A similar sign bn Kane Creek, posted with information about the agencys rules, as well as This knocked-dowtips for those ventursign is only a portion of the ing into the backcountry, was damage caused by vandals in the second such incident in recent weeks. Phcto courtesy BLM cut down with a saw then tossed by Lisa Church staff writer For the second time in as many weeks, vandals destroyed informational signs posted by the U 23. Bureau of Land Management at the day use area of Kens Lake. A sign at the BLM parking area along Kane Creek, and an infrared trail counter at Mill Creek Canyon on Powerhouse Lane were also destroyed this weekend. Hie most recent damage at Kens Lake was especially discouraging because the BLM had replaced signs that had been destroyed at the site the previous week, said Jem Sering, one of the BLM rangers investigating the incidents. About $3,000 in damage resulted from the first round of vandalism at Kens Lake, which is believed to have occurred near or immediately following the July 4 holiday. In both cases, the campground was not damaged. Somebody drove over all the signs, busted them down, crushed culverts and ran over trees," Sering said. TTiey just did a real number out there. Most likely it was one vehicle." The BLM did collect some evidence that may help apprehend the vandals, but the agency will not release specifics about that evidence while 259-210- I-- safe-trav- el 1 Ae n 0, on paid leave by Janet Ixiwe staff writer Moab City Polo e I) purtnient offin r Jason Turner is on paid administrative have pend alii ging a ing the outcome of ri mvt officer altercation arid the bitwein physical Kola of Moab. 70 rts, George acrording lo Gity Manager Donna Mitzlcr The inndint, which occurred in late May ha.-- ben uncli r invest! Iolne I'hitf Mike gallon since Navarre and Lieutenant Scott Mallori were ith di laying acout of town at the time tion on the officer's duty status mid-Jun- e po--ih- ly Metzler said policy on handling would have been chiefs absence the city dots not have a fixed complaints agairmt offiu rs that automatically initiated in the Complaints are handled on a ba.-i- s and. of cour-- e, must be reviewed by the police chit f." the city manager said With the episode currently under investigation. neither the police department nor Metzler were able to provide further details This is all standard operating procedure in cases l,ke this," said Metzler We are taking the complaint very st riously and will carefully proceed with our investigation " Metzler said it is not unusual for the.--e types of investigations to take several weeks to conclude. case-by-tas- e |