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Show 1 Weather ' WednosdayN tCi BT PiSSQST -- 1 84 307 SLC, PRESS 7 W 200 UT 84101 day Vernal man serves In Iraq. See page ASSOCIATION S Thursday' )St C UTAH wed. nlghtN A5 5005 Mainly cloudy Partly to mostly Breezy with Single Copy 50 t wmam Wednesday, April 2, 2003 Vernal, Utah 84078 1 1 1th Year No. 14 20 Pages SUPPORT OUR TROOPS Express online: www.vemal.com Ashley Creek War easfts cleans up its act erta5ii By Maureen Spencer Express Writer The uncertainties of the war in Iraq and fears of future terrorist activities, whether domestic or abroad, seem to fuel projected uneasiness of global, national and local financial prospects, according to Austin Sargent at Tuesdays meeting of the Vernal City Chamber of Commerce. Sargent, is the Eastern Regional the Utah economist with Department of Workforce Services. Part of the investing and spending woes surrounding the war is the fact that the global economy is not stable, and relationships between countries lire dependent upon oil and its related impact on production and transportation. Oil is the real wild card in the world economy, the upon impressed Sargent Chamber. TTie escalation of the war by an outside participant would also change projections. Another global risk he considered was the upgrading of nuclear weapons in Asia. He felt that barring major changes in the global and national economic structure, the nation had recovery forces in place. The seeds of the current economic recession were sewn during good times and continues because of consumer debt load. In a long war the world would experience recession, he added, although retreating oil prices after a war would be good. This recession He continued, nationally was from border to border, and very broad which makes it harder to come out of. This will be a jobless recovery. Energy prices are volatile and the global recovery is weak. He also projected that possibly by September of this year, the Federal Reserve would start to raise interest rates. He noted that all states have deficit budgets and that income tax capital gains have disappeared. Personal debt loads are at a new high and consumer confidence is down. In response to the question as to what is contributing to the local high rate of home foreclosures, Sargent again targeted personal debt loads and over extending of income times. Sargent during good sword acknowledged the of improvements in productivity stating that with the improvement came jobs lost. The national jobless recovery was seen to slow in 2002. Nearly 2 million jobs were lost. Uintah County unemployment is at 6.7 per cent. Sargent sees the West and South may be the areas to rebound the fastest. He saw the Utah employment downturn as severe, but felt that Olympics temporary employee numbers factored the numbers unusually. For the local economy, he had little better to offer. Unemployment rates are up here like everywhere else. Basin growth is seen as sluggish, and development is hard and slow, but not impossible. He also underscored minings importance to Uintah County, and the key that both airport and Highway 40 development stabilplay in future developmental ity and access to the area. In other business, Tammy Lucero received this quarters Outstanding Public Service Award for her many years of employment, service activities in the community, and in church. In response, Lucero noted that her family had come to Vernal for a one year stay--2- 0 years ago. The Chamber reported a near $5,000 success in last weekends radio auction. Vernal Area of Chamber will Commerce its begin meeting schedule springsummer next week at Nikkis Restaurant. Chamber will conduct a small business seminar prior to the regular meeting next week, beginning 10 a.m. and continuing through the regularly scheduled luncheon meeting. Registrations will be taken at the Chamber office and will cost two-edg- study, the necessary pollution reductions have been taken care of with the closure of the old sewage Updatte given on aiirpoirtt siftnaattion in the Vernal City offices in which the task force will discuss the district and salaries. They will also see a presentation by the Duchesne County fire marshall. Abegglen said the task force is designed to explore possibilities and to find out what fire departments in the county need as well as encourage Ballard City to create their own fire department Currently, Ballard is under contract with the Roosevelt Fire Department.Cindy Stevenson, supervisor of security at the airport, gave an update on security at the Vernal airport She said the airport metal detector, a has a metal detecting wand and a new explosive-findin- g device, all used to keep flying safe for passengers flying in and out of Vernal. Several thousand dollars to pay for the has been provided equipment through federal dollars. She said representatives from Salt Lake City headquarters would be in the area this week adding, Everybodys been Uintah County great Commissioner Mike McKee and Airport Manager Thom WardelL gave an update on their trip to Denver where they met with the FAA to discuss the current airport situation. According to McKee, FAA would pay only 20 percent of the cost to build a new airport in a new location but would pay 91 percent of the cost to upgrade the airport in its current location, including the cost of purchasing additional land. walk-throu- POOR COPY lagoon. The lagoons were constructed in 1981 to dispose of Ashley Valley's wastewater. Soon afterward, the lagoons began to suffer chronic leakage problems. As the waste-watseeped down through the soil and rock, it dissolved the selenium and salts contained naturally within the Mancos Shale on which the construction. were lagoons Eventually the water made its way to Ashley Creek through seeps and springs that appeared along the bluffs east of the creek. Several federal, state and local the agencies Including Environmental Protection Agency, Bureau of Reclamation, Utah Environmental of Department Quality's Division of Water Quality Sewer and Ashley Valley collaborated Management board to address the pollution problem by providing funding to the new wastewater treatment plant. The plant began operating in May 2001. Since then, the lagoons have gradually dried up, along with the seeps and springs that were contributing so much of the selenium and salt. Because selenium can be toxic in high concentrations to fish and wildlife and to those who consume of Water them, the Division of Quality.k Utah Department Health and TriCounty Health Department issued a fish and water-foer t $15. By Mandl Oaks Express Writer Vernal City Council and Uintah County Commissioners agreed last week that the best plan is to leave the airport where it is and upgrade to a C2 airport. The only opposition was from Anthony Byron of Naples City Council, who said at this point there will be no support from Naples City. He said at the last Naples City Council residents meeting, expressed their discontent with the possibility of leaving the airport at its current location. At this point,' we can't get any positive feedback,1 Byron said. However, one Naples resident, who lives on 2500 South on one of the parcels of property the airport would have to purchase in order to expand, said he doesnt mind selling his house as long as he is given fair warning and can sell the property before the airport decreases its value. He also said most of his neighbors dont seem to have much of a problem with selling their property either, as long as they can sell at fair market value. McKee and Warded assured the resident that the FAA will give him and all other residents fair market value for their homes. Before the meeting moved to a closed session, Uintah County Commissioner Jim Abegglen gave a short presentation on the fire service task force. There ill be a meeting April 9 at 6 p.m.. According to a recent water quality study, Ashley Creek in Uintah County is well on its way toward meeting Utahs water quality standards. The closure of the old sewer lagoon system on the east side of Ashley Creek and subsequent construction of a new wastewater treatment plant have reduced pollution problems associated with selenium and salt that have plagued the creek for more than a decade. The water quality study investigated all of the sources of selenium and salt and determined how much these sources would need to be reduced to meet Utah's water quality standards. According to the Veterans Arden Stewart, Duff Anderson and Russell Billings join the Boy Scouts, parents and children decorating the Courthouse lawn with emblems of support to deployed military. Pride in military heritage sparks local demonstration It didnt take long for the Parkin familys influence to be felt in this community. Three weeks to be exact.1 The Parkins moved to Vernal the first part of March from Coeur dAlane, Idaho, for Scott Parkins job with Ziegler Chemical. Thanks to Chris Parkins efforts, what started as a show of love for her three military nephews turned into a traffic slowing, all-oyellow ribbon event on the front lawn of the Uintah County Courthouse, complete with Boy Scouts and the Veterans of Foreign Wars. Im proud of my heritage she gladly admits.Tm tired of watchdemoning all of these strations around the world. My husbands grandfather died in World War 11, an uncle died in Vietnam, my dad is retired Navy and was on , a ship during the Cuban crisis. She also has a sister in Salt Lake City with one Marine son in Iraq, another Marine son in Afghanistan, and a third son preparing to deploy to Korea. Her sisters anguish, and her own feelings after listening to President Bush and British Prime Minister Blair speak, prompted her into a spur of the moment demonstration on the courthouse lawn Thursday afternoon supporting the fighting troops. d calls telephone helped quickly beef up Chris participation numbers. One call went to the county commissioners to be sure it was appropriate for the yellow ribbons to festoon posts, handrails, helicopter supports, and the Doughboy statue. A quick approval was given to her request Another call went to Duane Hall of die Vernal VFW. That produced a good representation of men whose own battles came long before yellow ribbons and demonstrators. Men who fully understood Chris and her cause. Neighbors and their children drove to the court ut house. Young mothers arrived armed with scissors, tape, twine and patriotic pride. Women who wanted their children to understand Chris and her cause. Pushing Chris harder was the news that she had heard that the Vernal National Guard deployment at Fort Lewis, Wash., was to be on its way to war very soon. Some families who could make the long trip to the Northwest were spending time with their loved ones, as yellow ribbons were being tied with balloons and streamers in Vernal. Other Vernal families were getting a brief visit with their military sons in Salt Lake City where some in troops had been flown for their family farewells. Governmental leaders of the county came outside and joined in praising the group, and provided helping hands in the bitterly cold wind that made their efforts difficult. A local business donated rolls of yellow ribbon at half price. Almost unnoticed an occasional hand would be seen crossing a heart as the three flags snapped crisply in the wind. By the time it turned 5 p.m. in Vernal the message of support to the men and women standing in harms path half a world away, was bright yellow.. .and very clear. consumption advisory in 1991 on the lower portion of Ashley Creek and nearby Stewart Lake. That advisory is still in effect while further study is conducted. anti-milita- Well-place- Uintah County Commissioners hold their thrones given to them by an unknown perpetrator during their commission meeting on April Fools Day. The thrones were wrapped in red hazardous materials tape. |