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Show Deadlines: Friday, December 20, 1985 News: Thursday 10:00 A.M. Vernal, Utah 84078 93rd Year No. 102 Advertising: Thursday 2:00 P.M. Phone 789-351- 1 12 Pages Me The Seep Ridge oil shale project blow early this was dealt a near-fata- l week by Congressional budget negotiators hungry for a balanced budget by 1991 despite efforts by Utah Congressmen to save the project. Encirled by clamor to reduce the budget and with support from Reagan administration, budget negotiators killed the Synthetic Fuels Corporation taking back $6.1 billion of its remaining $6.6 billion in uncommitted funds the agency had for awarding federal loan guarantees and price supports to projects. The action was attached to a $370 billion bill to fund most federal agen syn-fue- Single copy pirojeetts gasp after SFG falls cies through next October. The Seep Ridge $186 million loan and price guarantee was ready for approval late last summer but a 10th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that the Ute Indian Tribe had jurisdiction to lands the project is leasing from the state clouded the issue and the SFC delayed any action. The project was again up for a final measures by award, but the stop-gaCongress that sunk the SFC also canceled the award the day before the SFC board was to meet. p ls House and Senate conferees approved a provision Wednesday afternoon that prohibits any more funding for the SFC and bars the quasi-publi- c agency from committing any federal funds to synthetic fuels projects. Sen Jake Garn, a Senate conferee, was unable to convince the subcommittee to allow SFC to commit $184 million in loan and price guarantees to Seep Ridge. Seep Ridge has been gasping all said Bill Hendrix, Sen. week, Garns press secretary. The SFC is not dead for 60 days allowing it time to clear all prior commitments. The bill prohibits the obligation of any new funds, however, the Seep Ridge and Parachute projects already have SFC The big debate all week long has been to determine if the board has the authority to award Seep Ridge the $184 million, Hendrix said OMB Office of Management and Business simply stalled all evening long, said Sen. Garn about his ef- forts to save the project. They never sent the letter to the Synfuels Board, they kept saying they were going to send it up and they never did. A letter earlier in the week from James of Miller, Department Energy, to Sen. Mark Hatfield, chairman of the Appropriation Committee, stated White House opposition of the Seep Ridge and Parachute project in Colorado and caused the SFC board not take any action on the projects Tuesday. Sen. Garn responded to the letter by clarifying with the White House prior support of the projects and the commitments of the project sponsors. The letter was rescinded with a another letter from the White House, but the SFC denies receiving any such notice It is an eleventh-hou- r attack on Utah and Colorado that has been 99 percent successful," Hendrix said. The only remaining hope for Seep Ridge is the president not signing the continuing resolution that keeps the Driver advice for white Christmas Fire guts Vernal home A Wednesday evening fire charred the inside a Vernal home. An initial investigation points to a gas furnace as the cause. The fire was reported about 6:45 p.m. at 100 W. 500 N. occupied by Joe Boren, Vernal City Police officer and family. Diane Boren and her two children were at the house when the fire broke out. Mrs. Boren was refueling a wood burning stove in the basement. When she returned from the wood pile smoke had filled the lower level. All got out of the house without any harm, but most of their belongings remained inside. h Within about an hour Vernal County firemen contained the fire. The crew was at the fire until about 11 p.m. A WEDNESDAY FIRE consumed the inside of the Joe Boren home on 500 North, but Firemen were able to contain the fire, believed to have been caused by a furnace, after about an hour. Hearings prescibed as antidote to Ute Tribe jurisdication ruling Congressmen agree that a raw bill before Congress to clarify a 10th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling giving the Ute Tribe expanded jurisdiction of the Uintah and Uncompaghre reservations would be voted down, but hearings scheduled for this spring will be a foot in the door. Sen Jake Garn used an amendment to the Appropriations Bill that would have limited the Ute Tribes jurisdiction solely to tribal trust holdings as a lever in obtaining the hearings before the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs. The Washington, D.C. hearings will address issues of taxation, law enforcement, fishing and hunting, land-uswater rights, mineral rights. County commissioners, members inof the Ute Tribe and other persons volved will testify at the hearings. The direct result of the hearings will be legislation to solve these issues, said Bill Hendrix, press secretary for Sen. Garn. The initial reaction to a raw bill would be in favor of the tribe, said Ron Crittenden, field representative for Rep. Howard Nielson. "Its a mistake to believe that Howard is at odds with Sen. Garn on this issue, Crittenden said. Inside Memories of a white Christmas may be a lot brighter this year if drivers prepare to winterize driving habits to meet seasonal road and traffic conditions, advises the Utah Highway Safety Office. With millions of Americans driving more miles than between here and the North Pole, its most likely that nearly every motorist will encounter rain, snow, sleet, ice, fog, or unduly heavy traffic not to mention other seasonal hazards such as road glare, heavy pedestrian traffic on city streets, drivers, poor visibility, or slick highways during the forthcoming holidays. Because it is a special time of year when caring for others is first and foremost in our minds, we urge all motorists to take extra care, to practice patience, courtesy and common sense, particularly when driving through congested city strets, traveling long distances, or when traversing highways under poor weather conditions, says Utah Highway Safety Manager, Richard K. Howard. Without exception since inception of the reduced national speed limit and availability of occupant restraints, these two factors continue to rank as g the most vital practices under all conditions and in every part of the country, he said According to Howard, an estimated 9.000 lives per year, or more than 100.000 lives have been saved since the alcohol-impaire- City-Uinta- I looked at the house this morning and it definitely was not caused by the wood burning stove, said Dale Slaugh, fire chief, Thursday. Firemen and police were still investigating the cause of the fire Thursday, but the gas furnace is being eyed as a primary suspect. government in business until October 1986 and abolishes the SFC. Ruth Webb, press secretary for Rep. Howard Nielson, said that Conthe continuing gress approved resolution Thursday. Seep Ridge project is money left in the SFC budget for closing costs been has The government operating since Tuesday on a shortterm continuing resolution The Seep Ridge Project, a joint venture of Gilbert Shale Oil Company and Geokinetics Inc., is proposing a 1,100 barrel per day project using a proven insitu LOFRECO process. The project has been dickering with the SFC for two years The House does not allow nongeneric pieces of legislation to be attached like Sen. Garn did in the Senate, Crittenden said. Uintah County Commissioner Neal Domgaard, who was involved in the initial hearing with the Utah Congressional Delegation to get some type of action started, said the issue he would bring out of the hearings is the blame is on Congress rather than the Ute Tribe. State and federal governments have issues school sections, the BLM has lease lands and mineral rights in these areas 10th Circuit Court of Appeals which denied the Ute Tribe jurisdiction. said. All the judges of the 10th Circuit sitting en banc heard the case again after a U.S. Supreme Court decision and issued an opinion Sept. 17 that the Tribe has jurisdiction. these may be all a if the government did not jeopardy have the right to do so, Domgaard The lawsuit precipitated in 1975 when the Ute Tribe filed suit against the state of Utah to expand its Law and Order Code to include jurisdiction off the previously recognized boundaries of the Uintah and Ouray Indian Reservation. was given following U.S District Court for Utah and the case was appealed to the U.S -- -- -- Continued on page 2 Jr The case has been appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court which will make a decision in October on whether to hear it. i Jurisdiction trial in Sheriffs office seeks missing snowmobile The Uintah County Sheriffs Office is asking for assistance from the public in recovering a stolen snowmobile. Four male juveniles have been arrested and are charged with the theft of a total of five snowmobiles and a trailer. Through investigation by the sheriffs department the stolen property has been recovered with the ex- - d national speed limit was made a law in late 1973 In addition, more than 18,000 lives could he saved each year if all drivers and passengers fastened their safety belts at the start of every automobile trip Those of us who may be dreaming of a white Christmas may find that the fluffy white stuff is a true wonderland when it comes to winter driving techniques If snow country is your home or destination during holiday travels, look to these timely pre trip driver's tips: Plan ahead for the drive ahead Assure that your car is m top operating condition and properly winterized for travel. Be prepared to face up with the possibility of skids by polishing up your driving skills to cope with slippery conditions. If you hit an icy spot, ease up on the gas, hold the wheel steady, and roll through. Remember: sudden or hard breaking can result in wheel lock and put you into a skid If faced with an inevitable skid, do not hit the brakes in sheer panic. Instead, calmly lift your foot off the gas and turn your w heels in the direction the rear of the car is skidding Do not brake As you feel the skid being corrected, straighten your wheels and proceed w ith caution It may take up to twelve times more distance to stop on ice than on dry ception of one snowmobile. The incident came to the attention of the sheriffs office after two Vernal men reported the thefts. Don Anderson reported on Dec. 5 that someone had taken four of his snowmobiles and a trailer. The value of the items is estimated to be just over $10,000. Continued on page 3 The problem with the 1905 opening of the Reservation to white settle- ment was that Congress was just not explicit enough. POSTMASTER t M & It was clear to the people, but in writing it is very unclear in 1985, Hendrix said. The land included in the Ute the case includes jurisdiction southern half of Uintah County, rich in oil, oil shale and other minerals and the eastern half of Duchesne County including Forest Service lands. I dont understand why higher education in the state is not concerned, because they stand to lose a good portion of mineral lease money, Domgaard said. I t it CHRISTMAS is no picnic for postal workers as the sign above Vernal Postmasters door expresses their feelings. |