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Show -l yfimitl- 2 Vernal ExpfflM flj,r'ltL-t- l' Wednesday, September 25, 1985 School bus safety week to begin Utah will join the rest of the nation to observe School Bus Safety Week Autumn changes Autumn arrived in the area right on schedule. There is no doubt that cooler weather is here and that the mornings and evenings are getting darker. The leaves are changing colors and will soon fall to the ground requiring the annual raking and disposal. Elk hunters are getting anxious for the season opener a week from Wednesday. Wood gatherers are busy making trips up and down the mountain hauling in the winters wood supply. Nows the time to check the furnace, stove or fireplace before they go into e operation. This is also a good time to make repairs on storm doors and windows and check for cracks that can let in the cold winter air. Vehicles are also vulnerable to the change in the season. Sometimes cold mornings affect the starting and running efficiency of most vehicles if they are not in good condition. And if you have put off that autumn painting around the outside of the house, better get at it right away. Also, now is the time to winterize that air conditioner and bring in outside hoses and turn off outside water service that is subject to freezing during colder temperatures. Hopefully, we will still have another month or so of Indian autumn weather before cold weather sets in, but it is always a good idea to be prepared for an early cold attack. Some of our local residents migrate south for the winter and avoid all the trouble of getting ready for winter. We wonder how many local residents would trade our cold winters for hotter summers. Even better still would be mild winters and warm summers. This would eliminate the high winter heat and summer air conditioning bills. full-tim- 22-2- But in our climate, winter is inevitable, so its best to prepare. Autumn and winter weather can be the most invigorating time of the year. The cold, clean air makes one feel like doing something. Even though a lot of time is spent on winter preparation, there is also a great need for winter recreation. During the summer we have baseball, softball, soccer and other outdoor recreation programs, but in the winter, with its shorter daylight hours, it seems like most outdoor recreation shuts down. Last winter a start was made to spend some taxpayers money on winter recreation. The county approved a small amount to be spent on marking and grooming a crosscountry ski and snowmobile trail on Ashley National Forest north of Vernal. Skiing and snowmobiling are great winter sports. There is even a chance to attract Japanese tourists to the area if the right facilities are available. State funds may be available for winter recreation activities if the winter activity is done right. Winter sports activities in our area has a great possibility. The activity can provide a source of recreation for local citizens as well as a winter tourist attraction to help bring outside people to our community. We hope that those who have been working towards improving the winter recreation areas on the Ashley Forest keep working on the idea of a winter industry for the area and that areas can be developed to the extent that they will prove attractive to outsiders who will want to come to the area and experience some of the finest winter activities in the region. Businessman agrees to pay back millions An and Arizona businessman former Vernal resident alleged to have defrauded a Greyhound Corp. unit of more than $79 million has agreed to let Greyhound recover the money. However, the agreement approved by a federal court in Phoenix may not be worth the paper its written on, said Gene Lemon, vice president and chief counsel of Greyhound. Greyhound charges that Sheldon Player and others siphoned off funds it paid as part of a complicated lease and purchase transaction, according to a Sept. 19 report in the Wall Street Journal. The agreement call for Mr. Player, his wife and six companies allegedly controlled by Mr. Player to comply with court orders permitting Greyhound to seize and sell assets to recoup an alleged loss of more than $79 million, plus legal fees and other costs. court-sanctione- d Vernal Express (USPS 6580-8000- ) Published every Wednesday and Friday for $ 4 00 per year in area and S20 00 per year out of area by the Vernal Express Publishing Company, 54 North Vernal Avenue, Vernal, Utah 84078 Second class postage paid at Vernal, Utah 84078 POSTMASTER. Send address changes to VERNAL EXPRESS, P O Box 1010, Vernal, Utah 84078 Jack R Wallis Steven R. Wallis Traci Menke Aldon Rachele Publisher Editor News Writer Sports Editor Women's News .... . Merle Young Janet D Wallis Advertising Pat Harrell Advertising Nell Gurr . . .Circulation and Classified Ads . . Accounting Nancy Colton Phone 789-351Member of Utah Press Association and National Newspaper Association . Area correspondents . .Vera Jensen Snow, 7 8 Clara Robinson, 784-346Momla . Ada Openshaw, 789-314Naples Lorna McKee, 247-235Tridell Arda Mansfield, 247-237Lapomt Maeser Ballard Whiterocks Glmes Ouray, Enid Hatch, Tracy Phillips, Virginia Ferguson, Norma Damon, Advertising . . Thursday drivers transported over 132,000 boys and girls in 1,448 buses on 2,402 routes that covered nearly 16 million miles. We had 84 accidents last year. Thats a big improvement over the 137 accidents of 1975. 1 feel a major reason for the decrease has been Utahs comprehensive driver training program. Our buses are inspected by the Utah Highway Patrol to assure their safe condition. But 84 accidents are still 84 too many. Year-roun- d semi-annual- THE VOICE OF BUSINESS school and Utahs continuing student enrollment growth make school bus safety in Utah particulary important, both now and in the future. A little ex- tra care on our highways will go a long way toward making this years safe-ty record the best ever. II If m am 00 p m M gm I Members of the Uintah County Planning Commission have tabled a decision on a residents request for rezoning approximately 60 acres just north of the junction of Brush Creek and Diamond Mountain Road from a mining and grazing area to commercial. Shawn Colton has requested the rezoning to build a race track for motorcycles and vehicles. Several residents appeared before the planning commission both in support of the track and in opposition of it. Most of them objecting to the construction of the track said they were not opposed to the sport of motorcycle motocross, but were opposed to the tracks proposed location. Environmentalists raised concerns over the negative impact the track could have on the aesthetic quality of the area and possible pollution of Brush Creek. Two of the residents directly adjacent to the track have raised concerns over noise and possible dust problems that would arise. They said they moved out of town for the quietness of the area and were opposed to the construction of a motorcycle I raise taxes an imported oil sur-- 1 charge or a tax at the pump, a corporate minimum tax or a repeal of tax indexing. - Resident requests rezone to build motorcycle track II MAVAWMYl By Richard L. Lesher President Chamber ef Commerce of the United States Normally, Im what Rodgers and Hamerstein would have referred to as a cockeyed optimist particularly in matters economic. But lately, my mind has been spinning a scenario so worrisome it even has me reaching for the A few weeks back I wrote about the bugaboos endangering tax reform: the fear of losing special tax breaks, the elusive search for revenue neutrality complicated new revenueraising wrinkles which undercut the premise of reform and the reformers bias against business and investment. What, my restless soul keeps asking, if all these little glitches combine to slow the progress of reform efforts this year? To which my darker side replies with the following worst-cas- e scenario: 1) Tax reform does not get enacted this year. Perhaps a sign should be hung over the doors of the House Ways and Means and Senate Finance Committees hearing rooms paraphrasing the one Dante fancied at the entrance to the Inferno: All Simple Ideas and Clean Bills That Enter Here, Abandon All Hope. These committees are -- 3) The Never-Say-DSyndrome: The leading proponents of tax reform all decide to press on, no matter the cost. But if tax reform has been pushed into next year, the road will get even rougher. The special interest troops, caught off guard this year, will have regrouped. And the temptation to goodies before dangle election-yea- r these sources of campaign funds and support will be too much for some legislators to resist. As the party favors add up, eroding the revenue base, the populists will join the fray, loading up on the business and investment community to finance greater individual rates. The result: the proponents ensure their place in history and the 1988 race by passing a tax reform bill which, like the 1922 reform bill, is in reality a minefield of hidden business tax increases. 4. The Black Cloud: Now comes the really scary part. If this scenario plays out, tax reform will continue to hang over the business and investment community like the sword over Damocles until well into next year. And business will do what any of us would do: head for cover and wait it out. The economy teeters and the tax increase next year practiced at putting together sends it over the edge. Christmas Tree bills that make Conof sound this like cactus. look a Any your Tannenbaum In fact, a group of Ways and Means sider the signs. Already word is leakmembers gathered at a retreat early ing out on the Ways and Means plan, this fall, and if you think they spent including preserving the marriage their time taking constitutionals, you deduction and preserving other middle-incom- e tax breaks. The price: can think again. Behind closed doors, each could add his imprimatur to the an increase in capital gain rates and bill setting in motion a process of a new upper bracket. And despite high debate and amendment that may last consumer confidence, falling interest months and push tax reform into next rates and low inflation, investment and industrial production are year. stagnating and housing starts (senlooks for 2) A deficit-sh- y Congress sitive to tax changes) are falling. new revenues. A budget was bom this The antidote to all this (besides summer and immediatley declared an Move on tax reform orphan; nobody wanted to claim it as now. Adjust it around the edges to his or her own. No wonder according incentives and to the latest Office of Management and preserve protect important employee benefits, Budget estimates, the budget approved wont prevent another $200 billion but resist the urge to load it up with deficit next year. At the same time, fancy ornaments. And then, maybe we other problem children like the farm can have tax reform by the time we are decorating the real Christmas bill already threaten to bust even that tree and visons of sugar plums, inmodest attempt at deficit reduction. The possible result: Congress takes stead of dark thoughts, can dance in another serious look at proposals to my head. track. Those supporting the track say there will be only three or four meets during the year which will give the local economy a needed boast. In addition to money spent at the track, racers will also spend money at local .. motels and restaurants. Supporters of the track say that most residents have a misconception of the type of racers who participate in the races. Representatives from the track in Roosevelt said motorcycle motocross is generally a family event and the racers dont meet the sterotype of a biker. Several residents said they did not oppose nor support the motorcycle track and wanted Colton to present concrete plans on what type of buildings would be included in the track, parking, hours of practice times, race dates and a layout of the The track itself. commission postponed making a decision on the rezoning until next month giving Colton an opportunity to answer questions raised by residents. If the planning commission agrees to rezone, Colton must present his plan to the county commissioners for final approval. ie Alka-Seltze- r. Alka-Seltzer- pro-grow- th i BLM sends Basin $1 million in PILT Uintah County has been mailed the Department of the Interiors Bureau of Land Management for the fiscal year 1985 payments in lieu of taxes ( PILT) . Duchesne County received $394,119 and Daggett $35,206 out of $8,851,890 sent to Utah counties. PILT payments to 1,917 local government units in the 50 states, District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands and Guam totaled $101,093,318, according to an announcement in Washington, DC., by Secretary of the Interior Don Hodel. The annual payments to counties, townships and other eligible units of local government are compensation for having within their borders BLM, Forest Service and National Park Service lands, national wildlife refuges and certain federal water projects and military installa $621,605 by you have a call the Vernal Express 789-351- 1 10 00 I 1 News Item m JjSlIra Wl 1 -- g V gm 789-130- Fnday Edition .Thursday services. 353-458- Wednesday Edition Monday 5 00 p 1 00 a . Tuesday News Greyhound has identified some 55 different parcels of land, values of which are being appraised, Mr. Lemon said. However, the properties already have various liens attached to them. To sell the properties, Greyhound will have to prove that it owns them. Greyhounds claim to the property was potentially complicated further when Saed Assad Hasan, a Saudi Arabian businessman, petitioned federal court for protection from creditors under Chapter 11 of the federal Bankruptcy Code for Player Industries Inc. of Mr. Players principal real estate investment arm and the owner of most of the properties claimed by Greyhound. Mr. Hasan said in the bankruptcy petition that he is the president of Player Industries, a position currently claimed by Mr. Player. The court hasnt acted on the petition. Player Industries was purchased in July from Mr. Player by Waxxis Investment N.V. which is described as a Netherlands Antilles holding company owned by Arab investors, claims Hasan. In its lawsuit against Mr. Player and others, Greyhound alleged that Mr. Hasan joined in and directed the fraud. Hasan denies the allegation. If the court grants bankruptcy proto tection Player Industries, Greyhounds claims against the company will be thrown in the pot with the others, reducing the likelihood of recovery for Greyhound. Eight companies allegedly controlled by Player and Hasan in Arizona, Utah and Colorado are named as defendants in the suit. Defendents named in the suit include J.R. Willard, Michael R. Roussin and Robert Ward. transportation 722-492- Deadlines News faces difficulties Greyhound recovering it losses, says the Journal article. The problems related principally to contested ownership of parcels of real estate that Greyhound says are assets assigned it under the agreements. The company contends that much of the real estate was purchased with funds obtained through the alleged fraud. In any case, it isnt clear that the value of the land is sufficient to reimburse Greyhound for its claims. 84-8- 789-315- leota, Randlett Sheila Bloxham, Advertising according to Kelvin Sept. Clayton, specialist, pupil transportation, Utah State Office of Education. At this time, said Clayton, I want to remind all Utah motorists that they are required by law to stop for school buses which display flashing red lights. During the past school year, there were two student fatalities. These tragedies might have been prevented if motorists had obeyed the school bus stop law. Sometimes, continued Clayton, passing drivers are not fully alert and pass a stopped school bus. This is very dangerous for Utahs children, especially the younger ones who may not be watching traffic as closely as they should. The winter is a particularly critical time. School bus lights are no different from regular traffic lights: yellow means caution and red means stop. On the positive side, Clayton commended Utahs school bus safety record which compares favorably with that of the nation as a whole. During the 5 school year, he explained, Utah spent nearly $19 million for pt Planner Bob Nicholson reports to commissioners in headdress a a subtle message to the commissioner about the turn of events in a recent U.S. Circuit Court ruling. CITYCOUNTY 1 tions. The payments are based on a formula approved by Congress in 1976. More than $910 million has been paid to local governments since the program began. The PILT payments are in addition to revenues paid to states from oil and gas leases and sales of minerals, timber, other materials and products from public lands. PILT payments are intended to help local governments provide fire and police protection, search and rescue operations, road construction and other vital services ordinarily paid by tax receipts. The PILT payments are a major boost to the budgets of some of our more sparsely populated counties that contain large acreages of federal lands, Hodel said, adding that these payments can be used the same as any other tax revenues collected by the local governments. 4 |