| Show Standard-Examin- HationalWorid er Saturday May 13 2000 ZX Debate over prescribed bums grows The Associated Press WASHINGTON - When offi- The Associated Press cials set a brush fire at Bandelier - National Monument last week the plan was to have a small fire prevent a big one But the wrong weather patterns can turn such prescribed fires into just the kind of monster infernos they’re meant to prevent As the New Mexico wildfire set by the National Park Service continued blazing uncontrolled Friday Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt and Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman imposed a moratorium on prescribed fires in the West “The federal ' government’s controlled bum policy is out of controL” said Rep Joe Skeen who like many critics favors logging to thin out over30-da- Hatch proposes gettings tough on bounced checks- WASHINGTON Debt collectors could phone people at any time of day or night and charge them high fees if they fail to make good on bounced checks within a month under a proposal championed by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch is pushing Hatch the measure as an amendment to legislation that would make it harder for people to erase debts through bankruptcy which has raised protests from consumer advocates unions women's groups and religious leaders The White House meanwhile on Friday reaffirmed its support for bankruptcy overhaul legislation in principle but said President Clinton would d version veto the in its current form The Senate bill is more acceptable although the administration has “serious concerns” about some provisions White House budget director Jack Lew wrote in a letter to senior lawmakers “The president supports balanced consumer bankruptcy reform that would encourage responsibility and reduce abuses of the bankruptcy system on the part of debtors and creditors alike” Lew said “He believes that we can eliminate abuse without hurting those forced to turn to bankruptcy” Lew’s letter did not directly ah y R-N- M grown forests House-passe- “The National Park Service is acting like children playing with matches” said Rep Helen Chen-oweth-Ha- ge chairwom- ho an of the House Resources Committee’s forests panel She said LCnS DAY: Firefighter Peter Dybing (lefQ sleeps alongside fellow fighter Samanta Schroeder during a break in Los her subcommittee would hold a Alamos NM hearing into the decision to conduct the bum very well in those conditions” Cliffs near Vernal and anticipates “We can conduct said Fort a veteran of no changes to its policies Prescribed fire experts say the But Bette Arial public affairs fires for three federal blazes can be an important tool prescribed and fire information officer at the to prevent catastrophic forest thousand prescribed bums agencies fires by clearing away the dead Rob Mitchell director of BLM’s Arizona Strip office said and the public will never theBut Fire Ecology Center at Texas fires there are on hold for now logs and underbrush that fuel the “You always have to be flexiTech University said prescribed big fires That fuel has built up in know about We lose federal forests because for more fires when it is hot dry and ble with prescribed fires” she than a century natural fires were said “We may start bums again windy are a bad idea one and we get all the snuffed out in the fall when the weather cools Utah situation and conditions are right” that's and “We can conduct a thousand press The Forest Service which has manService which The Park prescribed bums and the public ” will never know about it We lose ages about 2 million acres of land burned nearly 2000 acres in unfortunate in Utah had planned numerous Utah this year plans to set fire to one and we get all the press and -- John Fort director another 40000 acres later this small fires this summer that’s unfortunate” said John of the National summer and fall said Dave Fort director of the National InNational In Canyon Bryce Prescribed Park crews have Thomas fire specialist for the Interagency TrainPrescribed Fire teragency already safely Fire Training Center burned 500 acres and had Forest Service’s regional office in ing Center in Tallahassee Fla “The people in the business who planned to bum another 1300 Ogden Those who set the fires say are very experienced never get acres this summer That is now Federal regulations require ex- on hold they take every precaution meaany credit They’re trying to do tensive planning before setting the right thing by the environAt Zion National Park Fire suring wind fuel type its moisment and the public and the fires Officials must map out Management Officer Art Latter-e- ll ture content and terrain But it’s weather gets them every now and where they want the fire to bum said he had already decided a complicated business the weather ideal for the planned before the recent disasters to susthen” “You’re fooling with Mother fire and contingency plans in case Nature with weather which is pend bums The National Park Service for it gets out of control “It’s basically too dry here so always unpredictable” Thomas example says it has set 3746 New Mexico officials we decided to suspend bums unsaid Many 1968 fires since of prescribed criticized have residents and the we til Some park managers worry weather monsoonal the which 38 have gotten out of congot trol including two that are still Park Service for setting the fire this summer before deciding to this week’s disasters will mean a when it was warm and dry do some more bums” he said public outcry against fire as a burning: the fire at Bandelier that However Fort said such conThe BLM which manages 22 management tool But they say it has burned more than 200 homes in Los Alamos and part of the ditions don’t automatically rule million acres of land in Utah has is their most effective way to preplanned 18 fires on 19000 acres vent disasters - if handled well nearby nucleatlaboratory and out a prescribed fire "All fire is risky” Arial said one that has burned more than “Some goals and objectives of land throughout the state The is a fine line between a a “There 7000 acres on the North Rim of dictate hot and dry conditions agency recently completed burn in the Book prescribed bum and a wildfire” the Grand Canyon in Arizona and you can do a controlled fire 6000-acr- e a 28-ye- ar it t computer problems halt gun sales across the nation on debt collectors But it noted the administration’s general view that the bankruptcy legis- lation must contain “appro pri- ate safeguards against coercive creditor practices that compel debtors to forgo their rights and that disadvantage more scrupulous creditors” Current law has protections from creditor harassment It prohibits creditors for example from calling indebted consum- ers late at night repeatedly dun- ning them over the phone or threatening criminal prosecution without legal grounds Sen Paul Sarbanes of Maryland the Senate Banking Com- mittee's senior Democrat said the proposal would unfairly “allow unfettered collection activities not only against the individual writing a counterfeit check but also against the consumer whose checks have been forged" In recent years there have been many cases in which consumers whose checks had been stolen were subjected to “hai rassing collection tactics” in gally Midwest storms death toll rises to two dozens hurt A quickly moving storm Spawned tornadoes high winds and baseball-size- d wind gusts up to hail mph and baseball-siz- e caused heavy damage to a mobile home park Friday night where several people were injured said Nancy Crowley Manitowoc County Emergency Government spokeswoman straight-lin- e The Associated Press hail from Texas to Michigan Friday night killing one person in Texas and injuring at least two dozen othKansas girl ers A died earlier in the day in after-mat- h 110 “The trailer court disapof a tornado peared” she said One person died in Hill About 28 people were inCounty about 60 miles south of as the storm hit Dallas when a twister touched jured Wisconsin One person was down Friday evening said Cpl east-centr- al Charlie Morgan with the Texas Department of Public Safety The storm ripped roofs off houses and flipped mobile homes as the storm moved through In St Nazianz Wis in critical condition Earlier Friday a girl in Tonganoxie Kan died after a porch roof collapsed onto her The roof was believed to have been damaged by a tornado that hit Thursday evening FBI The Associated Press - WASHINGTON All gun sales have been halted nationwide since Thursday afternoon because an internal software problem in the FBI criminal history database has temporarily halted instant background checks of gun buyers the FBI said Friday The FBI’s Interstate Identification Index a database that has the criminal histories of 36 million people stopped working late Thursday afternoon FBI and contractor employees expected to have it working again by tonight or Sunday morning FBI spokesman Paul Bresson said “It was an internal database problem not the result of a hacking or external attack” Bresson said Without background check approvals gun dealers said that since Thursday afternoon they have been forced to tell their customers to wait for their guns until the system comes back up and the checks can be completed Receive a FREE potpourri gift set when you spend $150 or more May The computer failure made it impossible to check the criminal histories for past felony convic- tions that bar people from buying guns Also brought down by the software problem was the FBI’s automated fingerprint system known as IAFIS for Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System The National Instant Criminal Background Check System or NICS established under the Brady law to check whether prospective buyers are legally eligible to purchase guns depends on the Interstate Identification Index in its search for felony convictions Even though gunstore owners in only about half the states file their background check inquiries directly with the FBI die failure afiected checks in all 50 states In states where gun dealers place background (heck requests with a state police agency that state agency checks the FBI’s criminal histories by computer in addition to its own records before approving or disapproving the sale 11-1- 4! Lawmakers blocked changes in Army Corps of Engineers Die Associated Press - LawmakWASHINGTON ers are throwing a monkey wrench into the Clinton administration’s effort to break up the cozy relationship between Congress and the Army Corps of Engineers besieged by charges of rigging data A provision forbidding federal funds from being used to make management changes at the corps was quietly tacked onto the spending blueprint for agricultural programs next year The $753 billion bill was approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee earlier this week The “rider” inserted by Sen is aimed Pete Domcnici at an announcement last month by Army Secretary Louis Caldera that all final decisions on corps project recommendations would R-N- M be placed in the hands of the Army’s assistant secretary for civil works - Caldera’s attempt to assert his control over the corps and its $4 billion in river construction and Available at the Customer Service Center Gift set includes 10" glass petal bowl and 1 qt dry potpourri Receipts totaling $150 or more can be from any combination of Newgate Mall retailers and must be dated on the same day Limit one gift per person while supplies last See Customer Service Center for details flood control projects followed allegations that top Army officers in the corps used phony data to justify costly construction on the Mississippi River But the Republican chairmen of the Senate Appropriations Armed Services and Environment committees complained Caldera agreed to suspend the restructuring The three committees now are investigating whether there has been undue influence over decisions on corps projects which are popular with members of Congress for the jobs and money they bring to their 36th St and Wall Ave Ogden (801)621-116- 1 wwwmallibucom rrat-- if vi- olation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act Sarbanes wrote to Sen Patrick Leahy of Vermont the Judiciary Committee's senior Democrat He said Hatch’s proposal would allow the practice to continue le- |
