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Show * TheSalt LakeTribuneUTAH Saturday,August 31996 Army Promises Grantsville Residents Quieter BombBlasts BY PHIL MILLER THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE the Armyi eet ee the shell-shocked community along with them: We won't shoot so much. We'll tell you when we do. And we'll keep the noise down. ‘Trust us. Thatlast bit is the toughest part for Grantsville residents, whose Main Street lies about six miles from the Army's bomb-demoli- tonBy at Tooele Army Depot N Area. For decades, homeowners grumble, their homes have been damaged and their health afflict- pot. “It’s not just a matter of she Area remains the most likely site Army keeping its word, but on when weapon demolition resumes Army destroyed obsolete or deteriorating ammunition. Worse, they say, TAD brass ignored their people keeping pressure on the next March, Huff said, disappointing the small crowd. “They just want to do whatever they ed by huge explosions as the complaints or even lied to them. So when Rodney Huff, TAD’s director of ammunition operations, explained the depot's plan Wednesday to cut detonations drasticaily andlimit their size, he was greeted with a dose of skepti- cism. “They've had credibility problems. The Armyis being as responsive as they've learned how to be,” said Grantsville resident Ward after a sparsely at- tended public hearing at the de- Army.. . I guess time will tell.” Residents had hoped detonations could be permanently moved to Dugway Proving Ground or TAD’s South Area, nowcalled Deseret Chemical Depot. But relocating to Dugway would prohibitively expensive at a cost of more than $11 million, Huff said. And the depot currently is not permitted to use the South Area when its chemicalweapons incinerator is operating —a mission that could begin this month. Thus, the problematic North want,” said Lois Wilder, who believes the Army is responsible for $25,000 in damageto her home. But, Huff said, TAD’s 1994 designation as a Tier 1 storagefacility, where the Pentagon warehouses ammunition it would need most quickly in the event of military action, has reduced the de- pot's destruction mission. The Armygot rid of 5.401 tons of ammunition at Tooele last year and 3,841 tons this year, but Huff says TAD pians to destroy less than 1,000 tons annually by 1998. __ — The depotis also exploring other methods of destruction, like emptying grenades of their explosives or freezing ammunition in liquid nitrogen before crushing it Best ofall, Huff said, there will be no more of the massive 3,000pound bombs thatespecially tormented Grantsville: they'll be sent to Sierra Army Depotin Cali Mary Noonanhas nointention of resigning as director of the Utah Division of Child and Family Services (DCFS) despite a formal request that she do so by attorneys whofiled a lawsuit against the state's child-welfare system. In a letter sent to Gov. Mike Leavitt on Thursday evening, Na- tional Center for Youth Law attorney William Grimm claimed that Noonan used her director- That's very important,” Ward. said “We don't feel those near- ly as much “Their pleas have not gone unheard,” said 1.t. Col. Mark Henscheid, Tooele North’s commanding officer We've been responsive, and I'm committed to staying responsive. And myfirst recommendation to my successor will be to listen to the citizens for public officers. Grimm's seven-pageletter also noted allegations about Noonan’s involvement in trying to cover up “MaryNoonan hasnointention of resigning her position,” said Randy Ripplinger, spokesmanfor the Department of Human Ser- vices (DHS), which includes DCFS. “Sheis far too dedicated to her staff and the children they serve.” Noonanalso “enjoys the total support” of DHS Executive Director Rod Betit and Director Robin Arnold-Williams, Ripplinger said. Gov. Mike Leavitt likewise has complete confidence in Noonan, said spokeswoman Vicki Varela. “He has nointention of replacing her.” In fact, Noonan's requestearlier this week to have the attorney general review heractions in the case of the 12-year-old “is a statementof confidence,” Varela said. Democrat Jim Bradley, who will face Leavitt in the November general election, also jumped into the fray and sided with Grimm. Bradley said a leadership change would be appropriate, at least at the division level, and possibly higher as well. “We have to look at who we're trying to serve here,” Bradley said. “Thestate is ultimately the guardian whohasto protect the interests of kids, and clearly that isn’t happening. “Ourtrack record is fairly dismalin that area. We have to own upto the problem andcorrectit,” he said, adding that significant Noonan's involvement in an investigation of a claim that the 12year-old had been abused byparents. Grimm quoted at length from casefiles on a referralthat initially came to DCFS on Christmas Eve 1995. The child had run away from home, was picked up by police and delivered to a youth shelter, according to Grimm's summaty ofthe facts. The child reported that he had been beaten by his father four days before. When shelter staff examined him and found severe bruising, they took photographs of the injuries and reported the abuse allegations to DCFS. Grimm did not make reference to @ police report from two days earlier in which an officer wrote that the child was suspected of having stolen a .44-caliber Mag- aum from his home. The child was placed in detention but ran away, according to the report. Several days later, according to the case files, a DCFS supervisor réviewed the photographs with a medical expert who agreed the bruises were consistent with the child having been beaten ‘with a power supply and grow lights for the experimentlater were taken to Mir by a Russian Progress cargo spacecraft. Salisbury said plans to plant the seeds last week were held up be- cause one of Mir’s modules lacked enough powerto run the growth chamberwhile generating oxygen for the crew. So Mir's crew decid ed to use a spare power cable to carry electricity to the growth According to Grimm, notes in chamberfrom another module of the space station, he added. Atlantis had been scheduled to mothercalled to say she had “*con- help influence the investigation’s outcome. As attorneyfor the plaintiffs in the class-action lawsuit, Grimm has access to DCFSfiles that are confidential and not accessible to the public. He quoted a Dec. 28 entry in the case file by an assistant DCFSdi- rector who notified Noonanofthe case and said that “Mary is in agreement that given the bruises and what happenedthatthere is no way to reach any other deci- sion butto substantiate the referral.” The same day, the case was reviewed by an assistant attorney general who concurred with the abuse substantiation and suggest- ed asking the family to voluntari- ly accept services from the agency, Grimm wrote. The caseworker and supervisors continued to get calls from the child's mother through Jan. 3, 1996, according to Grimm's excerpts, On Jan. 3, the caseworker was told the case was being turned over to police becauseit was decided DCFS hada conflict in handlingit. The child’s mother, whoserves on advisory boards to DCFS, was deemed a “friend of the agency.” Several weekslater, according to Grimm,a supervisor reviewed the child's file and noted there was “no indication that the [police] conducted an investigation of the allegations of abuse.” The supervisor also wrote a letter to DCFSofficials stating that “as a CPS[child protective services] supervisor, I would not allow any other case that came to myatten- if the abuse was recorded as anything other than substantiated, he would ask that his name be removed from thecase. On March 18, according to the ing much of her two-year tenure craft docked in March. A new belt Grimm has been a frequent and primarily on the propriety of cid to Mir when the two space- JIM BRADLEY Candidate for governor tion with these findings to be with DCFS. Hefocusedhisletter Space shuttle Atlantis carried 250 of USU's wheat seeds and American astronaut Shannon Lu- andcorrect it.’” progress hasn't taken place under Noonan’s direction. outspoken critic of Noonan dur- Mars. happening. Our track tacts in thestate office” and identified several administrators as friends who, she implied, could glected and abused children. The joint U.S.-Russian experi- record is fairly dismal in that area. We have to own up to the problem der of contempt by a juvenilecourt judge last May. state was failing to protect ne- project ment is an early step toward a goal of growing food aboard spacecraft during extended mis. sions, such as an eventual flight to kids, andclearly that isn’t the case file indicated the child's Finally, Grimm cited Noonan's “unwillingness or inability” to overhaul DCFS as required in a 1994 out-of-court settlement of the lawsuit, which claimed the Last year we ran our experiment hot-wired with paper clips: this year we're going to runit with an extension cord.” said plant physiologist Frank Salisbury, the USU scientist in charge of the protect the interests of unlawful activities in the Moab DCFSoffice. which led to an or- closed as an unfounded referral.” The supervisor also wrote that supervisor's note in the casefile, “Mary made the decision to close the case as ‘unfounded.’ I asked howwewould do that whenall the documentation in thefile indicated a substantiated finding? Mary said this would be an ‘exception.’ ” Ripplinger said Noonan’s actions were justified because the client's mother unquestionably hasa relationship with the agency that made DCPS investigation of the case a conflict, according to division policy. Grimmcountered that state law and the settlement supersede DCFS policy, and that this cir- cumstance did notfall into a category in which DCFS can abdicate its responsibility to conduct a thorough abuse investigation. There. also is some question about whether police did conduct their own abuseinvestigation. Police officials have been unable to find any documentation of chat and the officer on the case was out of town Friday. The county attorney who declined to prosecute also was un- available Friday The seed planting had been seheduled for July 26, but was postponed by power supply problems until cosmonauts rigged a cable to carry electricity to the wheat growth chamber. Last year’s wheat-growing experiment. whieh didn't go well. was saved from completefailure when “We have to look at who we're trying to serve here. on a 12-year-old child, and therefore violated the code of ethics THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE After more than a week's delay. Utah State University's latest space-farming experiment is set to begin Sunday or Monday when 104 wheat seeds will be planted on Russia’s Mir space station. cosmonauts used a paper clip to fix another power problem. Thestate is ultimately the guardian who has to ship to influence an abuse finding BY LEE SIEGEL fornia. TADwill limit each detonation to 2 quieter 750 pounds Child-Services Boss Will Ignore Call For Her Resignation BY NANCY HOBBS THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE USU Wheat Finally Will Head to Mir pick up Lucid and drop off Amer- Paul Fraughton/The Sait Lake Tribune ican astronaut John Blaha this A COUPLE OF NEW SWINGERS IN TOWN month, but problems with the space shuttle’s rockets delayed Colobus monkeys explore Primate Forest, their new home, featuring lush vegetation, rocks, a waterfall and pool at Hogle Zoo. The 2,300-square-foot exhibit cost $250,000 to renovate and marks completion ofthe first phase of the zoo’s MonkeyIsland area. that flight until mid-September. Salisburysaid that might affect the wheat experiment because Blaha “has beenbetter trained in our experiment than anyone else.” Got a Problem? Utah Teen-Agers CanSolveIt THE SALT TRIBI Members of Utah’s team in the Future Problem Solvers International Conference in Rhode Island this summer mayhaveharbored a fewdoubts about winning the event “We sat high in the balcony at the competition in Providence. Teamslooking for victory took seats on the floor,” says Adriana Horne, 17, of Skyline High. There’s a suspicion that their coach, Sue Sakashita, may have had doubts too. “Yeah, I promised if they wonfirst place, I would get them on [David] Letterman,” says Sakashita, of Salt Lake County's Granite District. Now, team members would like to be among Letferman’s guests because of their mastery of world problems. The Utah team captured first in the competition, part of a program designed to teach students critical thinking beginning in elementary school. Teams progress from designing simple devices to grappling with world issues. Other team members are: Amanda Morris, 17, Taliatha Palmer, 16, both of Skyline, and Heather Horne, 18, of Salt Lake’s West High. The theoretical problem they were asked to solve involved the United States and other major countries pulling out of the United Nations. Entrants had Driver Receives Stiff Sentence for Auto Homicide, Sex Abuse THE ASSOCIATED PRESS PROVO — A Santaquin man who pleadedguilty to felony automobile homicide and sexual abuse of a child has been sentenced to § years to life in Utah State Prison. Lyle Leifson, 24, also was ordered Wednesdayby 4th District Judge Guy R. Burninghamto pay $8,000 in fines. Prosecutors said Leifson was under the influence of alcohol when he crashed his car on a curve in Payson Canyon. Joshua Jones, an 18-year-old passenger in the car, died of head injuries. Leifson contended he had just returned from the dentist's office when the accident occurred, and had been under heavy medication. In combination with alcohol Leifson consumed prior to the crash, the medication contributed to poor judgment, Leifson’s attor- neys argued, But Utah County Attorney Claudia Laycock said the dentist advised Leifson about the dangers of consuming alcohol while uader the medication and Leifson did se anyway. Op the sexual abuse charge, Leifson was ordered to $800 restitution to the victims. He nrust also pay for all counseling the vic- tims may undergo. After the first 104 seeds are growing, the rest will be planted later this year States and New Zealand The grown wheatplantsinitially werescheduled to be picked up by Atlantis this December. but the “When we metas a team to practice problem solving, we focused on the U.N. Security Council and slipped, so the experiment won't two hours to come up with solutions, with 57 teams of four each representing Canada, Australia, United howit works,” Heather said Theyalso browsed the computer Internet and researched the United Nations operations and history before the competition. “It is a creative process, because you figure out the solution from your research,” Adriana said The team proposed that spysatellites monitor troop movements around the world so the Security Council could take action. “We can solve a problem in two hours that would take the United Nations 10 years to handle,” Heather quipped The group has been togethersince junior high, but members had a tough time finding a coach until Sa- kashita, then a Granite District teacher for gifted programs, volunteered. “T have done this for 10 years. And this is not my first team to be international champs.I had a junior high team four years ago,” Sakashita said. “Westarted in September on practice problems once we had been given the topic for the competi- tion, and won the Utah contestin April,” said Palmer. WRANGLER & CJ-7 OWNERS: ARE YOU TIRED OF THAT FADED, FLOPPY SOFT TOP?? DOES YOUR “BIKINI” LEAVE YOU FEELING TOPLESS?? THERE'S A NEW TOP IN TOWN, AND IT’S CALLED SLICK ROCK. DESIGNED AND BUILT IN SALT LAKE CITY BY “ASN DESIGN,INC., THE NEW TOP’S u AND STYLING ARE OUT OF THIS WORLD. SLICK ROCK FEATURES A ROOF AND HUGE WRAPAROUND SIDE WINDOWS THAT EXTEND UP OVER THE ROOF, TAND THE REAR LIFT GATE, CAN BE REMOVEDIN LESS THAN TWO MINUTES, HASSLE. STILL AS WEATHERPROOF AND SECURE AS ANY shuttle flight schedule has return to Earth until February. Salisbury said. “The more time,the better.” he said. “We hope the conditions are better this time and they'll grow faster.” USU micrometeorologist Gail Bingham has been in Russia this week to help coordinate the space-farming project. He will re- turn to Utah on Sunday, Salisbury said. Last year, the Utah wheat plants grew aboard Mir from Aug 13 to Nov. 11, but they failed to produce “heads” or the seeds contained in heads. The plants also grew in every direction and looked like crab grass. The ex- periment was plagued byfailures of Bulgarian-built growlights and an old power unit ALE PRICESEVERYE SALE os DA Ndi td RCH * SPECIAL PURCHASE x FACTORY RECONDITIONED GOODS. FACTORY GET BOTH 2 5” REMOTE T.V. AND 4 HEADREMOTE WARD TOP. THE NEW SLICK 1S THE ALL-YEAR, ATR ALTERRATIVE TO HARD PERATORS C. ASE THE NEW TOP AT AN INTROBDUCTORY PRICE. YY JONES AT nal 972-5252 FOR AN CTO S&E THE NEW TOP. OR COME TO OUR OPEN HOUSE SATURDAY, AUGUST Srd_ FROM SAM-NOON. 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