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Show i a. i r mtA (Judy do right That will gratify some people and astonish 4 7Vcc&& Always Your Credit 4th of July Card page 4 page 7 the rest -- Mark Twain Page 3 I f $ l VOLUME 92 NO. 63 Thursday, July 1 2 , 2001 I i By S. DEAN LEDBETTER i s f Staff Writer A minor earthquake measuing 3.4 on the richter scale and centered near Magna shook the surrounding western Salt Lake Valley early Sunday morning. Thousands of residents in Magna, West Valley City. Kearns, Bennion and Taylorsville were jolted by the quake which struck at 7:55 a.m. The quake also was felt in Rose Park and Salt Lake City. While no injuries were reported, light damage was sustained earthquake, including structural damage to homes and a Magna water line break. Most property damage was limited to cracked housing foundations and items knocked off furniture and shelves. A rupture to a eight-inc- h diameter water line near 8000 West in Magna resulted from the earthquake. 'The earthquake epicenter was located 3 miles northwest of Magna, said Sue Nava, University of Utah seismograph network manager. We are not sure at this point which fault the Magna earthquake was associated with." The Magna quake will be difficult to study because the fault is buried about 8 miles deep within the earth. There is no simplified surface expression such as a crack or fissure that some earthquakes leave visible. Although the quake lasted about 10 seconds, it became quite a conversation piece. Local reaction ranged from surprise to wonder to fear but some slept right through it. "At first there was a loud noise," said Magna resident Philip Edward Griffin. "I thought something had hit my house. Then the window shades started shaking and soon the whole house was shaking. This was the first earthquake I have felt since on several years ago when living in North Og ien." ' "1 first thought it was my oldest son making noise," said Leila Moa of Magna. "But when the windows rattled and the whole house shook, I knew this must be an earthquake." - Don Wice of West Valley City said, " I was making my bed when the earthquake hit. The whole house was shaking. It was pretty scary. Growing up in Michigan, I lived through some tornadoes. Now I have been through an earthquake." . To help seismologists study the July 8 Magna quake. University of Utah Seismograph Stations would like to hear from residents affected. "We invite the public to enter earthquake reports at our Internet web site same web sit address. The 2001 quake is one of several for the Magna area during the past 40 years. The largest earthquake occurred in Sept. 1962 and was measured at 5 2 magnitude. Severs il small tremors struck in March 1978 and a 4.3 quake rattled the area in October 1983. The Salt Lake Valley has long been know for earthquake activity. Native Americans called the area the "Land of the Trembling Earth" and avoided living in the Salt Lake Valley for that reason. Based on geologic evidence, seismic activiry history in the Salt Lake Valley leads seismologists to expect a major earthquake in the area withi n the next 50 years. Geologic studies indicate that the last large qiuake occurred about 400 years ago in the Wasatch Fault along the Salt Lake Valley eastern rim. of address www.quake.utah.edu." said Nava. "Click on recent earthquakes and did you feel it0" Detailed seismic information available about the July 8 Magna quake also can be accessed at the 1 County approves moving forward with township N By DEBBI OLSON Editor .. Magna is one step closer to becoming a township community as the Salt Lake County Council unanimously approved the current map of the township area Tuesday. Two public hearings will be held in August to give member of the community a opportunity to voice opinions on the township plan and gather more information from members of the County Council and the Magna Area i Council. The public hearings will be held Aug. 9 in Magna and Aug. 14 in the County Council Chambers. 'This is a very good move for Magna." said Councilman Michael Jensen, also a Magna resident. "It will give them more control over their planning and zoning issues as they work toward incorporation." Jensen said the proposed township status should not distract from the current petition drive to have a feasibility study done to see if Magna has a sufficient tax base to incorporate. 'This gives the citizens a sense of more control over in their affairs." Jensen said. "We're taking government closer to the people." The push for township status in Magna began in February when members of the Area Council began to look at alternatives to the incorporation effort. Objections of the map area, which was similar to the map approved for the incorporation feasibility study, were initially raised by Alliant Technologies. Kennecott Copper, the Audubon Society. Ambassador Duck Club and other property owners in the northeast quadrant of the pro- posed map. "We sat down and met with each group and found a way to make the map work that would satisfy everyone." said Magna Area Councilwoman Ellen Aguliar. who serves chairwoman over the planning and zoning committee. The proposed Magna township will include all of the residential area of Magna between SR201 and 4100 South and include a major portion of the Great Salt Lake, including Saltaire and Unlike the map being circulated in the petition for the feasibility study, the township does not R COPY include operational properties owned by Kennecott or its tailings areas. It also excludes properties owned by Alliant Tech the Ambassador Duck Club. The National Audubon Society Gillmor Sanctuary and other property north of the Goggin Drain. The approval of the Magna Township will become a pilot study for the County to see if townships might work for other unincorporated areas. "This gives the area some direct control that it doesn't currently have, which really needs to happen countywide." said Councilman Russell Sorensen. "However, on the east side I don't think we can accommodate every community that wants to be a township." The County Council will next look at the possibility of turning the westside communities of Kearns apd Rose Canyon into townships. "These are communities that have distinct boundaries and identifications." Jensen said. Kearns is currently circulating an incorporation petition for a feasibility study. As a township. Magna would still be an unincorporated entity of Salt Lake County. Police, fire and other city services would still be provided by the county and taxes would be set by the county. "The only difference is that Magna would have its own say on planning and zoning issues instead of it going through the county planning and zoning commission." Aguliar said. Decisions made by a Magna planning and zoning commission can be appealed to th e County Council, which would have the final say if a planning and zoning issue was contested by an |