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Show Utah State Pres3 Assn. 467 E. 3rd S. Salt Lake City Ut. 04111 Commmiissnoim ffaiwoirs onimcEeair ireposnttoiry by Cark Eisemann In a reaction to what they perceive to be an effort to downgrade active consideration of Gibson Dome as a repository for nuclear wastes, San Juan County commissioners authorized sending the following letter to federal, state and county officials and to civic groups and media. have been taken in 1881 as easily as 1981 . Tlhd Sami Jyami This picture could Alvin Reiner photo Reird If the geology is compatible for safe storage and sufficient safety of transportation and storage are assured, we support such a faci- The commission accepted the second point, but saw no reason that the site had to be the best site as long as it was a safe site.' lity. They also felt economic benefits might justify the county con- Wev HOMETOWN NEWSPAPER FOR SAN JUAN COUNTY, UTAH Vol. 65 No. ,8 20 cents March 11, 1982 San Juan Health Care Board appoints new member Monticello teacher,' accepted an appointment to the San Juan Health Care Services Board to fill a vacancy left by the resignation of Steve Nielson, president of Minerals West, and six applicants are being considered by the Board for the position of San Juan Health Care Administrator. These turn of events, a review of a hospital mechanical systems inspection and action bringing an addition to the San Juan Nursing Home closer to reality, occupied board members in a Tuesday meeting at the San Juan Hospital. of Bailey The- - appointment returns the membership to full Chairman Cleal complement Maxine Nielson and - Bradford, of Blanding; Bill Smith Guen Todachenie of Montezuma Creek; Harold Young and Bailey of Monticello and Sharon Crowley, Eastland. The six applicants being considered for the post of health care administrator Include Rayburn Jack, acting San Juan Hospital administrator and de facto San Excavation of what was believed to be an Indian family Keith Stepan of Timmerman and Associates, a Salt Lake Stepan Larry science Bailey, burial plot on the grounds of high school under construction in Monument Valley produced nothing but hibernat- the ing lizards. Over 1000 miles of seismograph work is being done in San Juan County on potential oil sites, according to a report from the Southeastern Utah Association of Governments. - County commissioners have requested a check of radar equipment following receipt of a letter from a driver who claims he was arrested on a radar clocking of 66 mphwhen his calibrated speedometer showed only 57 mph. Other parties have raised questions about radar timing arrests. Juan Nursing Home Administrator. Other applicants, all of whom meet the qualificatons, are: David Hatfield, presently employed in Minnesota; Philip Low of Aurora, Colorado; Marshall Petring of Ft. Collins, Colorado; James N, Albers, Cook County, Minnesota, and Robert Bauman of Jal, New Mexico. The six men were selected from among 28 applicants, exclusive 10 applicants who did not of meet the application deadline. The Board decided by unanimous vote to extend an interview invitation to the applicants, travel expense to be the responsibility of the applicant. Board agreed that in this The early phase of the hiring process, they would accept written infor m -ation in lieu of an interview. out-of-st- ate architectural firm, presented preliminary drawings for aclinic and emergicare addition to the San Juan Nursing Home.: Stepan estifoot wing mated the 53,000-squa- re could be built at a cost of $70 per square foot, exclusive of equipment. The sche matic plan included two doctors offices, a laboratory, emergency room, ambulance drop off and room, garage. Timmerman and Stepan Associates was authorized by unanimous vote of the board members to prepare blue prints in consultation with Harold Young, chairman of the Health Care Board Facilities Committee. x-r- ay Wilson of Heath Engineering in Salt Lake, reporting on an inspection he conducted of the Lewis mechanical systems, hospital Jhe found the facility weak in said the following criteria areas: pervision n of a high-press- su- ure steam boiler; surgery and delivery ventilation; ventilation filter efficiency and temperature of water delivery to patients. He said some of deficiencies are related to criteria imposed after the hospital was constructed, but suggested that consideration be given to correcting the problems. Wilson recommended that heating for the building be altered so that the system operates on steam. He said this could be accomplished by using a step-dovalve on the high preslow-press- Com- Facilities Chairman Young to investigate with Heath Engineering the costs of repairs and adjustments identified by Wilson. Board members approved a sick leave policy that will convert unused sick leave days to longterm cash benefits for San Juan Health Care Services employees. It will work like this: employees will be paid 50 percent of their base pay, upon termination or retirement, for any unused sick leave days over 24, up to and including 60 days. 1982 San Juan . February Hospital occupancy rate was reported at 37 percent, the highest in three years. . of the need for are opposed to either the Canyonlands Park or archaeological sites in the area being used We to preclude the repository. our support for continued studies and eventual We re-affi- rm tributing to the development of needed services. The commissioners stated that the people of this county must show active support of the project if they do not want to miss an economic opportunity. Earlier, Commissioner Low had reported that two half-tiproject offices would be established, one in Moab and (me in Monticello. Low stated that concerted efforts by the Lions Club, me Chambers of Commerce and other groups had influenced a decision to locate an office solely in Moab. The offices are meant to serve as a liaison between the counties and Governors Nuclear Task Force and will include a library on nuclear waste, donated by the federal office of Nuclear Waste Isolation. Utah DOT plans improvement projects for San Juan roads wn currently in use at the hospital. Wilson stated that utility expense figures furnished to him indicate that San Juan Hospital with a $14.85 per patient day energy bill is one of the highest energy consuming hospitals in Utah. Wilson noted that the hospital soft water system was inoperative and stressed the many savings that can be accrued from the use of soft water. Board members authorized are aware permanent storage of these wastes and believe permanent storage is safer than the present storage. Nuclear temporary power generating stations have proven to be safe and are necessary as part of our national energy resource. San Juan and Grand counties are desperately in need of economic opportunities and jobs. We believe that the economic impact of the repository will be positive for our area and the positive effects outweigh any negative effect. ure sure boiler, one of two boilers In discussion, the commission We fully support continued studies of geological and technical feasibility of the area for such a site, including sinking a shaft, if necessary. San Juan County mission wishes to restate its position concerning a possible waste nuclear repository near Gibson Dome in San Juan County. fillies? . expressed their feeling that Governor Matheson is setting unnecharsh criteria for essarily selecting a Utah site. Commissioner Black quoted a press rewhich stated that the lease governor wanted assurance on three points: 1) Gibson Dome is the best site in the nation; 2) the area poses no health problems and 3)the federal government will bear 100 percent of the costs. The Are these ranchers discussing fences or location of the facility under the aforementioned conditions and we urge full speed ahead. The letter appears over the signatures of Commissioners Calvin Black, Kenneth R. Bailey and Robert Low. In addition to constructing a new road across Recapture Dam, the Utah Department of Transportation has plans for at least three more road improvements projects in San Juan County, according to Sam Taylor of Moab, district representative to the Utah Highway Commission. All projects will be on Highway where extensive construction work will be undertaken at Mule-shCanyon. Taylor anticipates that a contract will be let this fall for the resurfacing of 163 Monticello and Devils between and he anticipates curbing Canyon aryd gutter, resurfacing and correction of drainage problems on 163 north from Highway 666 to Youngs Machine this summer. Immediate goal at Muleshoe is to improve motorists sight line, which will be accomplished by eliminating sandstone cuts on the present roadway. It is planned that an existing bridge will be replaced at an estimated cost of $200,000, said Taylor, and the roadway widened to three lanes on both the north and south approach to an existing hazardous curve 163 oe responsible for numerous accidents. Less than a month ago the driver of a tanker was hospitalized with serious injuries following a collision with a truck trailing a prefabricated home at Muleshoe. Taylor says that preliminary investigation Indicates it would be possible to construct a truck lane at Muleshoe, a he would like to see project run-aw- ay become a reality. Highway stats San Juan and Grand Highway Patrol statistics released for the month of February indicate 655 citations issued, of which 333 were hazardous arrests. There were 77 arrests, 201 hazardous warnings and 44 warnings. Three stolen cars were recovered and suspects arrested in non-hazard- non-hazard- ous ous three thefts. Seven accidents were investigated in which total damage was estimated at $15,000. |