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Show u Ute win over Carbon. Home UT schooling challenges. See page B1 VC- - See Page B8 Single Copy 50 $ Wednesday, September 3, 2003 Vernal, Utah 84078 111th Year No. 36 20 Pages SUPPORT OUR TROOPS Express online: www.vemal.com tell inmates Souk MBtsiIhi'Sinniaoe saamnnnmeir By Maureen Spencer Express Writer For Jackie Gustaveson, manager Vista Mobile Home Park, the summer of 2003 will go down in her memory as a nightmare. And the list of water woes involving ruptured irrigation culverts, sink holes encroaching upon family mobile homes, sewer backups, and a rushing flood from a backed up culvert in the bottom of a deep sink hole, may not be over yet Gustaveson first became aware of a dangerous break in a deep underground culvert the night of June 5, when residents were awakened by a loud, grinding swoosh, as rocks, sand and dirt swept downward into a widening chasm caused by an old, rusted canal culvert which runs underneath parts of the park. As the hours passed, the hole widened and deepened. A nearby home was moved. Owners of the mobile home park erected a sturdy, protective chain link fence to prevent the curious to be involved in additional cave-in- s. canal But in July, debris-lade- n waters clogged the remaining culvert pipe, causing a deep lake to form in the sink hole, and incoming water was so intense that the lake overflowed, coursing through yards and streets. Aggravated .calls from manager Gustaveson and park residents to brought County Commissioners county crews to the park to clean out the old culvert Highline Canal officials turned the canal waters off entirely to enable the work, but then opened the flow as soon as the work was completed. Twelve cement barricades now line the waters open, of the water-weaken- VJH instructor Lynne Romney prepares hard hats for Student Council members who direct students to classroom in the remodeled school. large lake formed when the first sink hole at the Vista Mobile Home Park, filled from a plugged drainage culvert. A ed un-pip- ed flow on both sides in the still gaping sink hole. A more sustained closure of the canal will have to wait until later in the farming season. Large chunks of sawed logs, sizable rocks and assorted limbs and trash had blocked the pipe, and crews worked to clean it out several feet into the remaining pipe. As flooding waters subsided, Gustaveson discovered a large sink hole developing under the comer of her front yard, and extending to an unknown depth and breadth under her driveway. We could just stand there and watch it slipping down, she recalls. Sand deliveries have been packed into the area, which is continuing to slowly sink. 4 Weekend accidents claim two lives Sunday, Steven Lawrence Potter, of Vernal, was traveling east on State Route 40 at mile post 75 near Duchesne, when he swerved off the southside of the highway. The accident occurred at 4:20 a.m. Potter and went off the north side of the road and rolled over several times. The driver and passengers were ejected from the 1999 Dodge, Potter was driving. Potter died at the scene. 23 Jarimiah of Crowley, suffered Roosevelt, injuries to the ribs and neck. Kory Madsen, 19, of Vernal, suffered head injuries and broken ribs. Dustin Scott, 18, of Vernal, suffered injuries to his right shoulder. Passengers were transported to Uintah Basin Medical Center in Roosevelt for treatment. Contributing to the accident was speeding and sleepiness of the driver, reported Trooper Jay Przybyla, investigating Trooper. Carmelita Olivera Saturday, Montes, 31, of Randlett was traveling east on State Route 121 about two miles west of Lapoint, when she ran into a horse that was on the highway. The horse landed on the vehicle crushing the roof of the passenger compartment. The horse then fell off the vehicle and landed in the roadway. Montes continued east on the roadway and then left the road to the right and struck a fence. The vehicle fell into the ditch and continued forward for a short distance. A passenger in the vehicle, Frederick Compeach, died in the accident which occurred at 1:50 a.m. Montes is charged with vehicle homicide. The horse died in the accident. Montes suffered injuries to her head and had to be extricated from the vehicle. An accident last Wednesday seriously injured two Vernal men. The accident occurred when a westbound vehicle driven by Bradford D. Scott, 50 of Vernal, traveled across the lane divider into the east bound lane directly into the path of an eastbound vehicle driven by Lee J. Gardner, 52, of Vernal. The vehicles collided headon. The accident occurred on State Route 40 in 23 VJH opens to delight off Some said it could not be done. Others just shook their heads. Contractors surprised many by having phase one of the $8 million remodel of the Vernal Junior High finished just in time for the first day of school Tuesday. Some windows were missing, floor tiling wasnt complete, white boards werent in some of the classrooms and the classroom doors were not in place, but it was good enough to begin the school year. Its really white, said Andie Atwood, student at the school. The classrooms and hallway of the building have been painted white to brighten up the building. It's going to be noisy with no said doors to the classrooms, another student . Late Saturday night, contractors students were able to get the water running in the restrooms and some teachers spent long hours getting their classroom in order. We were up until 1 1 p.m. Saturday getting the cabinets in and the whiteboard up, Lynne Romney, biology teacher at the school. Randy Upton was pleased with the effort contractors made to get the school open. A temporary shelter was erected over the physical plant for fire suppression which is in the incomplete administration area of the building. We had to build the shelter to meet code, he said. Construction on the cafeteria and administration areas of the building will continue through the school year. The remodel should be complete next summer. Oil, gas industry invites to Energy Days A series of presentations on oil and gas runs Wednesday and at the Western Thursday, Sept Park Convention Center. by the Vernal Area Chamber of Commerce and the Independent Petroleum Association of Mountain States, the oilfield equipment booths and displays in the inside arena will be open to students, families and all interested both and parties Wednesday Thursday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. The free public forums and speakers will be featured at Thursday's sessions held in the Western Park conference rooms. Registrations Thursday open morning at 8 a.m. for those w ishing to attend the conference sessions and will feature political, govern 3-- 4, mental and industry driven speakers. The presentations will have a morning and an afternoon break, and a luncheon with additional presentations. Chamber Executive Director Richard Harrington says the free event is sponsored by oil and gas companies operating in the area. The Conference is designed to be an interactive session involving industry representatives and audience members. Harrington invites all interested groups to plan to attend the meetings and share the input of questions and answers on pivotal industry issues. UtaCn oiroeiratoir - IbMSDimessmaini seeks gmemwsIhiDp Fred P. Lampropoulos is the holder of over 100 patents and chief executive officer of a ar medical instrument company. Now he wants to be governor of Utah and apply what he has learned in business to government. "You cannot run the state as a business, because it is not, but you can apply some of the principles of business to government, he said in a presentation to Vernal Area Chamber of Commerce members ' - Tuesday. Lampropoulos has never run for public office before. He has spent much of his time building Merit Medical Systems, Inc., a South Jordan business which has been listed among the top 25 best small businesses in the U.S. He said the way he turned a good business into an excellent business to implement an incentive compensation plan. By implementing the plan, Lampropoulos said his workers doubled their productivity. Currently Merit Medical employs 1,250 workers. He said that state and federal regulations are choking businesses like his. He said he would oppose removing the tax exemption for business machinery. He said he supports the preservation of areas in die state that need preservation, but he said he is opposed to locking up wilderness areas. Several years ago, Lampropoulos took an idea from Ronald Reagan and began producing a weekly radio program. The program features such topics as the New York Time, Tax Free Day, Stupid Criminals and Golden Fleece Awards. He said he didnt know every issue of the different areas of the state, but I am willing to learn and employ experts who can give me advice on such issues. "I will do what it takes to be a government who makes a difference economically." L Fred Lampropoulos speaks to Chamber member s about his bid for governor. I feel that my whole front yard seems to be tilting , the concerned manager says. If original maps of the placement of the underground culvert are correct, the old pipes pass directly under her yard, barely skimming past the comer of her home. Gustaveson also tours the park daily to see if she can detect further slippage into developing culvert ruptures. In early summer the park sewage system had also experienced backup problems due to administrative misunderstandings about who to bill for electricity to the sewer station. Gustaveson personally fears their water nightmare has not ended. over-correct- Jensen. The cause of Scott's movement into the east bound lane is undetermined," reported Trooper Jon Gardner, Utah Highway Patrol. Post collision examination of the speedometer from Scott's vehicle showed the needle pointing directly to 55 mph. Scott was wearing his seatbelt and suffered injuries to the chest area. He had to be extricated from the vehicle. Gardner suffered bruises and abrasions to the head. Both were transported to Ashley Valley Medical Center in Vernal. Scott was cited for driving on the wrong side of the road. Some 30 feet of asphalt on State Route 191 at milepost 215 north of Vernal was damaged when a large machine fell off a truck-trailafter the driver lost control of his rig on Friday, Aug. 22. The accident occurred at 4:22 p.m., when Franklin Charles Odell, Jr., 41, of Winters, Texas, driving a 2001 Mack truck, headed south on State Route 191, lost control of his truck-trailon a sharp curve in the roadway. Odells vehicle crossed into the northbound lane and went off the east side of the road, losing a large machine that it was carrying. The Mack truck struck the hillside and continued back on the roadway where it struck the rear and side of a 1997 Ford F250 pickup truck driven by Scott J. Hardman, 33, of Vernal, before continuing off the right side of the road, striking the hill on the west side of the road. The machine skidded across the road, causing an estimated S30.000 in damages to the roadway. The machine then came to rest on the embankment west of the highway, according to a Utah Highway Patrol report. There were no reported injuries in the accident, but there was an estimated $175,000 in damand ages to the Mack truck-trailthe machine it was carrying. Hardmans vehicle sustained an estimated $15,000 damage. Odell was cited by Utah Highway Patrol Trooper Jon Gardner for failure to maintain control. er er two-vehic- le er 1 A |