OCR Text |
Show BEAVER CGDODCDITV Published at Milford, Utah 84751 PRICE 25? THURSDAY, January 26, 1984 Vol. 84 No. 4 SJ ? - f j 3 M f V i, . s J V i t ; u isr- , v-- - 4 V. , w w 4? ! 4 t, r& KK4 ? Lfw ii rw' - - s5 , - t f k i . J cords. .r A-- ' tW' " f - SSmmSrT. - The State of Utah claims that excess or flood waters belong to the people and the state has no responsibility; Beaver County admits they have the authority, but no legal obligation to control flood waters, and lack the funds and equipment to do other than emergency work; the irrigation companies claim no responsibility except to their share holders, and claim no water they cant hold behind their dams, and Ralph Pearson claims that water going over Minersville Reservoir belongs to him and should be allowed to travel the channel. Thats the dilemma that approximately 40 Beaver County people tried to deal with last Thursday as several farms on the Milford Flat were already being flooded, and others threatened. It was an impossible situation that is only more complicated by the fact that precipitation in the Tushar Range is already approaching 200 to 300 percent of average, and is well above last years re- o To those like Craig Davie, Ronnie Walker, Mike Yardley and Gary Sullivan who already have land underwater, the emergency is here. It may already be too late! To others in Beaver Canyon, North Creek, Indian Creek, South Creek and along the Beaver River channel, the emergency will come with the spring thaw. And then it will be too late to do anything. The question is: What do we do? How do we do it? How do we pay for it? Who should accept the responsibility? HOLE: Olgas Well blew high into clear blue skies last Satlast October, while Lady Linda had cloudy grey skies show and tell day. They expect Industries Earth at Mother urday June to have power plants on line and producing electricity by DISCOVERY 1984. Commissioner Johnson explained that after last years runoff the County was supposed to be reimbursed for 75 of the costs by the Federal EmergencyManagement Agency (FEMA) and 12 12 percent from the State of Utah. So far the county has received only $74,000, less than half the amount they were to receive from FEMA, and nothing from the State Utah. said that only public faciliwere ties (roads, bridges, etc.) covered by the disaster declaration. F rivate property was not included, leaver County spent over $250,000 fighting the flood and just cant ifford to do more than emergency work to protect its own structure?. Weve (the Commissioners) called this meeting of you water users to se what actions should be taken, who should take them and how to finance them. of He Who does the water belong to? Jack Mullin, Rocky Ford Irrigation The Minersville Company, said. Dam was built for irrigation. Its We going to be used for that. have no responsibility for flood con- Pearson has filed belongs to me! on 50 second feet of Beaver River that flows past Milford. Though until 1980, he had never received any. Pearson then turned on Comm. Jefferson ar.d said, Its your responsibility, you do something with it. You took it upon yourself to build the diversion to Hay Springs, now use it and give some relief to these people being flooded out. If you had put that money into the channel, we wouldnt have a problem. (Continued on Page 8) trol. Lee Strong, representing the State Water Engineer said the states position is that surplus water belongs to the people, and is their when responsibility. Ironically, water is in short supply the state owns it all, and regulates every drop. Ralph Pearson said, The water Dogs, parking,school crossings addressed by Metro Advisory Board The Advisory Board for the Beaver County Metro police met in Milford Monday evening to address problems of the communities. The meeting was attended by representatives of the communities, Sheriff Cartwright, Commissioner Johnson, deputies and councilmen. Topping the concerns of the local communities are enforcement of local ordinances, particularly those concerning dog problems, parking g and guards at school crossings the hours wbw rhHdrn are going to and from school. Mayor Pettey expressed several concerns he had, and listed complaints he had heard about Metro. He reaffirmed his support ofMetro, stating that he believes Milford has better coverage than ever before. However, he said that he felt there could be better communication between Metro and city officials, particularly in the area of enforcing He noted two city ordinances. problem areas of licensing and con- dur-.ln- trolling of dogs and the 24 hour parking ordinance. Mayor Christiansen said that Beaver Citys major concern was the lack of a crossing guard at the schools during hours when children are going or leaving the school. He said that Beaver City Police had provided this service and that they felt that Metro had obligated themselves to take over those duties along with others. Commissioner Johnson said Ilia., tlie MttroAdvisori Board nqeds to develop a framework for enforc- - c. t The following weather information is provided by the National Weather Service compliments of the Milford Weather Station. Record minimum temperatures for the day were set on January 18, 20 and 21st. -- 15 18 0 Jan. 17 0 20 17 Jan. 18 -- Optimism, enthusiasm over geothermal discovery Optimism, exhuberance and enthusiasm are the adjectives that best describe the owners and employees of Mother Earth Industries, developers of the Cove Fort --Sul -phurdale geothermal field. At a show and tell session for the media, local officials and Provo City Saturday, they described their good fortune and plans for the future. Wayne Portenova, president of MEI noted that Provo City has contracted to purchase the first 4.3 megawatts of power, and has first options on additional producortenova said without Provo tion. Citys faith and support, the discovery likely would not have been made. Portenova Injects that MEI will hire local people as much as possible. Presently there are approximately 15 on the payroll. He also hopes to utilize the geothermal energy in a number of other enterprises, which will boost the local economy and increase local employment. Portenovas partner, Gordon Ford has long been active at Sulphur -the sulphur dale, developing It was his continued deposits. faith in the geothermal potential of the area that first interested Portneova when they met in 1976. Portenova invested in Fords Inc., sulphur operation, and when Union Oil gave up their geothermal leases with the conclusion -- For-min- co that though a large reservoir existed it was not economical, Mother Earth Industries, picked up the leases, and began development. Mother Earth Industries, Inc., hit on their very first well. At 12:35 a.m. on October 24, 1983, MEI discovered the fourth 100 pure steam field in the entire world. The well blew out of control when a highly pressurized reservoir was encountered at very shallow depth. It blew pure steam for three weeks until it was capped on November 17, 1983. Our geothermal experts say this one well alone is capable of producing an estimated 14 megawatts of electricity. The discovery well, "Olgas Well, is named in honor of the late Olga Ford. The well presented last Saturday is our second named in Lady Linda, well, honor of Wayne Portenovas wife Linda. MEI plans to redrill Olgas well this spring and place it in production with the first generating units. is the Cove We have no field? way of knowing at this time, Portenova said. It could be 100 megawatts, yet it could be 1000 megawatts, like the Geysers in California. Steam fields are very rare, highly sought after, and can produce large volumes of electricity at very competitive rates. Steam fields are the simplest of all geo How large EESSaKBEKIIEV Fire - Ambulance - Police In Beaver Call 38-28- 62 thermal systems to develop. Unlike the high -- temperature liquid ominated Reservoir at Roosevelt Hot Springs, MEIs steam does not have to be separated from large volumes of water. Reinjection is less of a as is corrosion and problem, erosion. SH1B 6) of SMR Annex. Keith Long, proprietor of SMR Builders said ht intends to offer a complete line of Whirlpool appliances, televisions, toy and gift items, housewares and sporting goods in the annex. SMR Builders will continue to offer a complete line of hardware, lumber and auto parts at their present location. Long said. We need more space, he said, and this will afford us the opportunity to serve the Milford area with a bigger inventory in both locations. Jefferson's, long a stalwart of the Milford business district leased their grocery store to Crisp Food-tolast November, and the sal to SMR Builders brings an end to an era that under George Jefferson 20 Jan. 22 16 31 33 21 -- 8 -- 12 -- 11 13 0 0 .01 .03 T grew to prominence throughout Southern Utah. After his death in 1960 the business was managed by Flwood Jefferson until 1975 when G. Richard Jefferson took over management. Elwood passed away in 1976. e, The Jefferson era started in with Georges father, who later purchased the Tanner Store in Milford. George Jefferson became a powerful figure in Utah, serving as a state senator, and many important posts. He was instrumental in starting the Milford State Bank, now First Interstate Bank. Jefferson Mercantile was a 'benefactor to many Milford projects and could always be counted upon to support any community effort. Richard Jefferson has moved his offices to Tower Products, and said his future plans are indefinite? Long told the COUNTY NEWS that Milford area residents can expect the same quality, and friendly service at SMR Annex as they have received at SMR Builders. They hope people will continue to look to SMR for their needs at both New-hous- -- "We Care " Group GrgcrJios to hc!p f!"jy Peoria Jefferson llardoare store ment and took over Jeffersons Hardware, and has purchased the inventory and leased the building, and will operate an appliance, house -ware, television, sporting goods, and toy and gift store under the name Jan. Jan. 18 24 6 Jan. 23 last year to date Precipitation was 3.19 inches. This year to date is 3.42 inches. Builders purchases SMR Builders completed an agree- 19 As of the Department of Energy Publication dated 1979, there were 1750 megawatts of geothermal electric production in the world from all types of reservoirs and 1100 megawatts of that came from the dry steam fields. (Continued on page For the first time in 70 years Jeffersons will not be a fixture on Milfords Main Street. Monday Jan. He said he ing city ordinances. feels that it is the citys responsibility to notify residents of violations, and then if backup is needed for enforcement, a deputy should accompany a city official. Sheriff Cartwright said he wasnt aware that parking was a problem until he saw last weeks COUNTY NEWS. He said that he didnt like to learn of the problem in the paper. Editor Wilson said he had brought the subject up with the Sheriff end individual deputies with no result, and was left no other alternative. Pettey suggested the Sheriff begin printing his log in the newsHe felt this let citizens paper. know that Metro was on the job. Cartwright said that the Beaver Press had condensed it so small it couldnt be read, and had finally quit printing it, while the COUNTY NEWS had asked for a more condensed version, so he just stopped submitting it. COUNTY NEWS editor Wilson pointed out that much of it was repetitous, and that it could be better written to provide the information without being boring. Space costs money, and its difficult to repeat a line four or five times, when the incidents could be grouped, and more explicit details given. Agreement was reached that park (Continued on Page 2) in I'ilfcrd Area Youve no doubt heard about contributing funds to feed Utahs Wildlife. Do you realize that there are people right here in the Milford area that do not have money for heat, food, and medical bills ? A Milford Group has organized to help these needy people with the basic necessities. Called We Care, they have organized it, non -- denominational and non -- political group, with as a the sole purpose of helping the needy in the Milford Area. We Care needs your contributions! This is not just a one time effort, but will be an ongoing program, and will need regular All contributions will contributions, as much as you can give. be appreciated regardless of size. All contributions will go directly to the needy, with no administrative costs. All members of We Care are volunteers, and contribute their time and effort. Your contributions will be 100 deductible. No money will be spent for luxuries. All contributions will be used only for necessities: Food, heat and medical bills. Social Services funds are Inadequate to take care of all the needs of the Milford area. All applications will be thoroughly screened to eliminate duplication. It is not necessary to be receiving assistance now to qualify. non-prof- Mail Your Contrbutions to: GSZaiHlE Dox 435, Milford, For Further information contact Utah 84751 Bene or Selma Kirk, Vice Pres. Johnson, Pres., 387-556- 387-23- 86 1. Plcaso Help Bocauso TJo Bcio" - Bo Yea? |