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Show Serving East Juab County - A Nice Place To Live! Volume 94, No. 49 Wednesday, December 4, 1996 Skeleton of small child found near Mills Junction By Myrna Trauntvein Times-New- s Correspondent The skeletal remains of a small child were found near Mills Junction in south Juab County on Friday but the cause of death and the identity of the remains have not yet been determined. The remains were found by area ranchers while they were doing maintenance work near the headgate of Juab Lake, said Juab County Sheriff David Carter. At first, I hoped the remains might be those of an ancient Indian child, said Carter, then it hit me that there was no way it e could be. The lake is and the dam was built too recently for the skeleton to be ancient. The lake, actually, was natural but consisted of a small puddle and a natural marsh. A group of county residents who needed the water for crops, cattle, and the community of Mills, formed a cooperative development company, built a dam and the water was contained and controlled in the early 1900s. In the early 1950s, the spillway and the roadway was over the spillway has been widened and improved since that time. The remains which were found couldnt be ancient, said Carter. The earth has been disturbed, in the area where the skeleton was located, by maintenance several times since the spillway was There has been a lot of work done in the area over the years, he said. The group of ranchers had decided to cut trees away from the spillway and clean the area so more water would be available next summer, said Carter. They started moving rocks and found the skull. The sheriff and his deputies were then summoned to the scene, said Carter. We did more excavation work and located the partial remains of what would be, obviously, a very young child," said Carter. The skeleton was covered with rocks. The remains were taken to the state medical examiners office for possible determination of the age, sex and cause of death, said Carter. If it turns out to be a recent death, we will return to the site for a more thorough search. We will continue the investigation after we receive the results from the medical examiners office," said Carter. "There are always missing kids from all over the country and we will check to find matching details after the medical examiners office has given us the information they accumulate." pages Single Copy Price 50 $ adopts $4.8 Miloim Ibtmdg! ffoir 1997 Cornmnsslomi By Myrna Trauntvein 7Imes-New- s Correspondent Juab County Commissioners adopted a $4.8 million budget for the general fund for 1997. Of the budget amount, 31 percent will go to salaries, 13 percent will provide fringe benefits for employees, 34 percent will cover material and supplies, and capital expenditures and other expenses will account for 22 percent of the budget. There will be no property tax increase this year, said David Cloward of Cloward, Alexander & Siminster, Orem, certified public accountants. I think it is particularly remarkable the county commission had not projected any property tax increase for the tax payers of the county for the coming year, said Cloward. In fact, the actual expenditures for the coming budget year have dropped from the 1996 budget year, said Cloward. In 1996, the budget was $5 million, he said. The drop was in spite of the fact that the jail was now on line and had needed more employees. The jail costs reflect the fact that the jail will be fully operational for a full year, and the added costs are caused by utilities and extra personnel needed at the new facility. jiu ' ,f 4c v., ' f in, J J? ,A & ' r o vM vsh.. ' it: ' man-mad- A proposed 3 percent salary increase, which barely covers cost of living increases, was also proposed for the budget. How that is to be allocated still remains to be determined, said Cloward. The two biggest reasons for the drop in the county general fund budget came because the natural gas payment was not made and the weed control department received a large grant, he said. The Juab County landfill will also be fully operational for the full year of 1997, said Cloward. The budget reflects the projected operating costs of $105,000 which will be off-sby the et projected revenue of $146,000. Cloward said the extra funds, however, do not represent profit. The money will be used to repay equipment costs and to set up a reserve to plan for future property when the present landfill is closed and a new one opened. In addition, he said, the county will need to plan on maintenance and upgrading of equipment used at the site. Juab County Commissioners adopted a merit pay system for all county employees even though Commissioner Ike Lunt protested the action. I am not going to argue with you re-bu- about it, you know my feelings, and I wont be angry. I still dont think we can afford the program, said Lunt. He said the revenue for the county was too insecure and budgets too tight to properly fund the system. It wont work if we dont have the money to keep putting into the merit pay system. It is up to the commission each year whether or not to fund the merit system, said Gordon Young, county commission chair. The merit system will become effective in January. Young said commissioners had discussed the plan for several months. This was one of the first assignments given Mike Seely (county administrator) when he was hired, he said. In addition, he said, the county employees had been polled. Seventy percent of them voted in favor of adopting the merit system, said Young. I fear we will face possible litigation for discrimination if we do not adopt the merit system for all our employees, said Joseph Bernini, commissioner. The sheriffs department has been on the merit system for a number of years, he said. If we dont have the money for the program next year, then we can tighten our belts. All will be affected equally in that case, said Bernini. Young seconded the motion Bernini made to accept the merit pay program because Lunt abstained from voting. Two employees, who have the highest pay, will not receive raises this year, said Young. The action does not affect the elected officials, just the employees, of the county. Elected officials, such as the county clerk, treasurer, recorder, assessor, county attorney, and commissioners are not part of the merit system. Public meetings scheduled to review Utah Lake Basin Water Plan to review a Utah Three public meetings are scheduled December Lake Basin State Water Plan prepared by the Utah Division of Water Resources. The December 12 meetings will be at 2 p.m. at the Juab County Commission Chambers, 160 North Main in Nephi, and 7 p.m. at the Orem City Building, 56 North State in Orem. The December 13 meeting will be at 1 p.m. at the Wasatch County Building, 25 North Main in Heber City. Written comments on the plan should be submitted before Januaiy 20, 1997, to the Utah Division of Water Resources, PO Box 146201, Salt Lake City, UT 84114-62012-1- lt. A 10 LET IT SNOW? With a little help from a spray can, Floyd King helps nature along by flocking Christmas trees to bring the outdoors indoors. Snow can even be color coordinated to blend with anyones home decorating preference. This beautiful Christmas tree is being turned into an interesting shade of pink; a challenge for any talented home decorator. 3 1. Country Treasurer resigns, cites health By Times-New- s Myrna Trauntvein Correspondent The Juab County Treasurer presentJuab County Commissioners with a letter of resignation on Monday. Joyce Pay, who has two years left of her current term, cited health reasons as the cause for her resignation. Her resignation will be effective on January 1, 1997, said Gordon Young, Juab County Commission chair. We will need to contact the Juab County Republican Central Committee and ask them for three recommendations for the position by the next meeting, said ed Young. The next commission meeting will be held at 10 a.m. December 16. Commissioners will fill the position from the recommendations of the Re- publican Central Committee, said Young. Juab County Commissioners adopted an ordinance for the Juab County Landfill at Mondays meeting. Commissioners also adjusted the days of operation for the facility. The ordinance specifically makes it illegal to dump garbage any place but the landfill. Now, therefore be it ordered by the Juab County Commission that it shall be unlawful for any person, firm or corporation to knowingly and intentionally dispose of solid waste in any area of the county other than at the approved landfill, read Commission Chair Gordon Young from the ordinance. It will be a Class C misdemeanor for the first offense and a Class B misdemeanor for the second conviction. However, nothing in the ordinance limits a property owner from disposing of solid waste upon his or her own property. Those limitations are imposed by state and federal law. The landfill will be open Tuesday through Saturday from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. The landfill has been open Monday through Friday but those days have not been workable, said Young. The county runs the landfill through a contract with the Juab County Rural Development Agency. Since federal and state regulations require the landfill to have specific hours of operation, commissioners needed to set an opening and closing time for the facility. Utah Code authorizes counties to regulate county landfills and the disposal of garbage. County commissioners agreed the health, safety and general welfare of county residents require solid waste not be dumped in any other area than the approved landfill. We need to do something to control the dumping of solid waste at unauthorized sites or every ravine in the county will be full," said Young. People in the county are used to going to the landfill whenever they have had a pick-u- p load of refuse to dispose of but now the landfill has closing hours. Juab County, said Glenn Greenhalgh, advisor ofthe county planning and zon- ing commission. David Leavitt, county attorney, suggested the commission implement the resolution or ordinance through the zoning ordinance. Greenhalgh said the planning commission would draft the rules and regulations which they thought important to govern the development of gravel pits in the county and then would return to the commission. Juab County Commissioners opened the 1996 budget to make some changes in fund balances to make the expenditures and revenues balance for the year balance. There are several funds which need to have adjustments, said David Cloward, independent auditor from HawkimJuab County Commissioners ins, Cloward & Simister, Orem. The moratorium on gravel major funds are Drug Law Enforceposed a y ment, Weed Control, and Fire Warden." pit development in the county. We need time to prepare an ordinance specifying the rules and regulaSee County on page 2 tions which will govern gravel pits in 60-da- |