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Show C8 UI ppgsCKT -- 82 Red Fleet Track construction safety , See page All get underway See Page B8 C UTAH 307 SLC, PKhSS 200 W UT S ASSOCIATION 84101 5005 - G Single Copy 50$ Wednesday, April 16, 2003 Vernal, Utah 84078 1 1 1th Year No. 16 SUPPORT OUR TROOPS 20 Pages u Express online: www.vernal.com lOjOXQ i I g By Steven R. Wallis Express Editor A change in the rules for implementing equal assess service (EAS) has forced Uintah Basin Telephone Association (UBET) to rethink its proposal to the Public Service Commission and agree to reduce its rate to a fraction of its proposed last summer. The company originally proposed to charge $4.95 a month to all residential telephone subscribers and $6.95 to all business subscribers throughout the Uintah Basin for EAS. The fee would eliminate long distance toll charges in the Uintah Basin. In response to customers concerns and investigations of the of and ( Committee Division Consumer Services (Committee"), the company revised its proposal, and plans to charge business and residential rates for EAS of 80 cents in Vernal, $2.25 in Roosevelt, $3.25 in Duchesne, and $5.75 in UBTA's exchanges. Roger Ball, director of the Utah Committee of Consumer Services, (UCCS) said that an outside firm, William Dunkle and Associates, determined that the actual cost of EAS is about 70 cents for Vemal residents and $13.50 a month for residents in the original UBET ter, ritory. The cost is proportionate to the number of customers in a calling area, Ball said. UBET proposal The original averaged the cost of EAS for the entire area. EAS has to be done by calling areas, Ball said. The Division of Public Utilities stated in a memo last week, that it does not oppose the company's EAS request to institute Basin-wid- e with rates of 80 cents for customers in Vemal, $2.25 in Roosevelt, $3.25 in Duchesne, and $5.75 in UBTA service territory, but it is subject to 75 percent approval of customers in each affected community of interthe est as by required Commissions new EAS rules. The Division recommended to the Public Service Commission that a new customer survey be done in which over 75 percent of those surveyed approve EAS in each calling area before it is implemented. The survey will be developed and conducted independently, by a qualified survey consultant, under the direction and consensus of the and Division, the Committee UBET. The Commission will approve the wording of the survey prior to its implementation. The cost of the survey shall be the responsibility of the UBTA. The survey must include a representative sample of customers from each community of interest: Vemal, Roosevelt, Duchesne, and the UBTA service territory. Bruce H. Todd, general manager UBTA-UBE- T and of CEO word was said Communications, received last Friday afternoon that the Division of Public Utilities had the (DUP) approved Companys revised Basin Wide Calling Plan (EAS). He explained the Division of Public Utilities has forwarded their recommendation Service on Public to the Commission of Utah, who must give their approval prior to the plan's implementation. Manager Todd said UBTA-UBEand GVNW Consultants Ray Hendershot had been working with Fourth graders from Lapoint, Todd and Ashley schools spent the day, Tuesday, learning about the importance of farming. Grace Chew of Vernal lets students feel wool and sheep cards used for straightening wool. This is the seventh year of the Farm Fair sponsored by Uintah Basin Farm Bureau members. ' T and allows the company to implee ment the calling. Todd said that one of the reasons for EAS is for social and economic benefits to the customers. This proposal was to benefit all UBTA-UBE- T customers, not to increase revenues for the company. We have tried to keep our promises and commitments made to customers, within the oversight of the regulatory agencies, and it is our hope that the communities will support this new proposal. Certainly the company is moving in the right direction, said Jean Klein, who participated in a petition drive against the implementation of EAS when it was proposed at $4.95 a month per phone line and $6.95 a month per line for businesses. There are people who participated in the petition drive who are against it even at 80 cents because they feel they are forced to pay for something toll-fre- Getitifippg BimvoDved . By Maureen Spencer Express Writer Get involved!" That was the strong message presented to Vemal Chamber of Commerce members Tuesday by Lt. Mitch McKee, intelligence chief for the state of Utah. McKee cited the unexpected and shocking attacks on two former Olympics, bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma City, consulate and Naval ship attacks, and two attacks upon the Twin Trade Centers as fair warning that domestic violence not only can, but does happen worldwide and in the United States. McKee presented a realistic picture of citizen awareness and involvement as a key to successfully combating all elements of criminal behavior. Why is homeland security important to him personally? Because of my children. I want these kids to have what I have, McKee repeated. Utahs security School district reaffirms dress code tor students Megan Searte and Kayla Rasmussen find less skin and more ing acceptable for the District Dress Code. The goal of the administrators in Uintah School District is to assure that every student is in school and learning. Gothing worn to school by students is part of the atmosphere of the schools. The administrators are asking that parents and students cooperate in a healthy, safe, clean, and decent (007.0215 Students Dress Code) climate in the schools. In April, the principals met and established the following criteria to make choosing appropriate clothing for school as easy as possible for cloth- students. The following guidelines apply district-widkindergarten through 1 2th grade: Shorts, skirts, or dresses must not be shorter than the top of the knee. Spaghetti straps, tank, halter, and tube tops, shirts which are excessively low and revealing, and cut out under the arm are unacceptable. Any sleeveless shirts must cover from the neck to die shoulder of the e, See Dress on page A2 . w they will never use. With the survey, if it is done correctly, Klein said, the community will receive the service it wants. The Division concluded that a survey done in 2000 by UBET-UBTwas not adequate. Because it does not provide substantial evidence of the publics support of basin-wid- e EAS in each exchange the affected proposal. by Deficiencies in the survey include too small of a sample size and misleading questions. It is also expected that there will be a public hearing on EAS, particularly for the Vemal area. The original Vemal public hearing on EAS was poorly attended. The final implementation of EAS, if it meets all of the requirements as proposed to the Public Service Commission, could be four to five months away. This is our final proposal, Todd A said. If these rates are not approved, we wont provide the service, he said. He stressed that every calling area will need to approve the rates before the service will be implement. Because the EAS rate is bundled with a restructuring of the base rate, the cost per line for businesses will be reduced from $26 to $23.80 in Vemal, to $25.25 in Roosevelt and $26.25 in Duchesne with EAS. We view EAS as an economic benefit to the communities we serve, Todd said. Calls between community increases eight times with the implementation of EAS. If forced to call long distance for services in the Uintah Basin and in Salt Lake City area, some residents will likely shop out of the area, e Todd said. By providing long distance, more business will stay in the Uintah Basin. toll-fre- is key to seaunroty plans are to protect the health, safety, freedom and welfare of its citie zens from threats. Suicide bombings are a part of life for Israel, McKee pointed out. They face it in public transportation, malls, sports events, churches, schools, commercial sites and public gatherings. He felt that Utahns can get involved by being observant, report crimes and suspicious activities, educate themselves and get involved in neighborhood watches. He stressed that as a state, he does not feel there is near the need for concern as there are for many other locations. Right now, he made clear, our current threat is very man-mad- low. McKee was bom and raised in Maeser. He spent seven years with the Highway Patrol before leaving the Basin and locating in Heber as a sergeant. His next move was to the Utah Police Academy where he a became lieutenant. The Commissioner of Public Safety came and asked him to put the Olympic Intelligence Center together. Our Olympics were a short time after the 1 1 attacks in New York, he observed. Terrorist activity had injured andor killed at two previous Olympic events. There weren't a lot of guidelines to follow. No one knew what more might be coming. McKee's organization created the first time that the federal, state, local and international intelligence 9-- 1 . t, . Mk , DUP and the Committee of Consumer Services to get pricing to meet the needs of everyone. The new EAS rates the company is proposing are 80 cents for cusin in tomers $2.25 Vemal, Roosevelt, $3.25 in Duchesne, and UBTA in seven the $5.75 exchanges. According to Ray Hendershot, of GVNW Consulting, new updated traffic figures were more definitively defined, which will benefit all respective areas. According to Brace H. General Todd, the ManagerCEO, company has invested over $20 million in the improvements throughout Basin. A portion of the investments has made it possible to allow the callcompany to offer Basin-wid- e ing at these rates. A major element of this investment has been fiber between Roosevelt and Vemal, which allows for increased capacity i homeland security. community worked together to process information in one spot. Success at the Olympics brought McKee the job of doing the same job on a state level. State task force goals for homeland security begin with being organized. Intelligence is the first line of defense. We can gather information. but we're not very good at disseminating raw information. We tend to keep it for ourselves." he said. McKee changed this attitude by uniting agencies so that the information was timely and accurate. It includes all ty pes of criminal intelligence. He stressed that citizens of a com-Se- e Security on page A2 1 w |