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Show Tbursday, May ;o By DEBB1 OLSON Editor After four years of serv- ice to Magna, COP officer Phyll is Chilcott is leaving. Although she insists it's just temporary, Chilcott and her patrol car have been a common sight throughout Magna, and one that residents have come to rely on when trouble occurs. "I've loved working for Magna," Phyllis said Wednesday as she was recognized by residents for her dedication to the city. "It was a really hard decision to leave." Chilcott has been reas- - signed to Taylorsville where she will take on a patrol assignment instead of a COP assignment. Taking her place in Magna will be new COP officer James Timpson, who has worked off and on in Magna for the past few months. Chilcott was assigned to Magna as its COP officer by the Salt Lake Sheriffs office in 1998. "Four years doesn't seem like a long time, but what she accomplished in that time is more than a number of people could have done," said Sgt. Paul Burnett. The decision to leave Magna waspne of stressful contemplation, Chilcott said. "But it was time for a change and to move on and try something different for awhile," Chilcott said. As assignment change in the Sheriffs department, Chilcott said she will request a change to return to Magna and the people she has come to know and interact with on a daily basis. "She'll always thing of Magna as her town," said her supervisor Lt. Steve Sharp. "This was her town and her area. She did what she could and took ownership of every assignment given to her." Chilcott did everything from organizing deputies to put on a breakfast for the senior citizens on the Fourth of July to having lunch with elementary students at McDonalds. "Her dedication is above and beyond the call of duty," said Area Councilman Norm Fitzgerald, who presented a plaque to Chilcott representing both the Area and Community Councils. Phyllis Chilcott receives a plaque from Norm Fitzgearid. new study released bythe Utah Rivers Council indicates that if the Bear River is diverted for Salt Lake's residential use, water in the Great Salt Lake will drop as much as six feet. The drop in water level would dry up tens of thousands of acres of wetlands along the lakeis shoreline and eliminate migratory bird habitat used by more than 250 species. The Utah Rivers Council spent six months researching effects of proposed Bear River water diverson upon the Great Salt Lake. Because the Bear River provides 60 percent of the lake's surface water inflow, diverting the river would be particularly harmful to the Great Salt Lake in dry years. "Bear River development is the single biggest threat to the Great Salt Lake and to some of North America's best migratoiy bird habitat," said Zach Frankel, executive director of the Utah Rivers Council. 'This Bear River boondoggle would harm migratory birds traveling from nearly every country in the Western Hemisphere just so Salt Lake can keep wastA By DEBBI OLSON Editor Magna is set to receive $20,000 in Community Block Development Grants in order to replace trees at Copper park. Salt Lake County has already begun replacing trees in the park that have died due to disease or uprooted in wind smarms during the past two year. The park has also received a facelift of new playground equipment for children. Gone are the old tire swings, replaced with a colorful Copper Park Train, a catepillar to climb on, an activity center that features a baseball themed board and a new set. Under the swing equipment are wood chips to make potential falls less hurtful for children playing in the area. "Magna is one of the areas in the country that meets all of the eligibility qualifications for tick-tac-t- OR COPY oe Y M " - -- ' 'I- - - . , f I . 1 "t:i ' . ' , V- r I- 4 CDBG funds," said Area Councilman Norm "V Fitzgerarld. "Those are priAW ority funds under the law." should receive Magna additional CDBG funds for projects that include t 1 of the senior cenrY.V ter, and funding for both & ' Head Start and MagnaFACT ' that residents programs help in the city. Total CDBG funds com'X ing into Magna could exceed $100,000 for the next year. Additionl improvements by the country are expected for Pleasant Green Park. - rx.ym t i r - A t i '! : Vv v i 4 " x f i vS& , AS 'I . 1 1! v-- Photos by Debbl Olson t $ S a 3. Jk ! Hi ' t v? MXa , i nr ..f Jt uiti ! i - ing water." t i ' ;) J i Great Salt Lake at risk from proposed water diver son project Coppper Park has a new Jay Norton, above, plays with his grandchildren Austin Norton, 5, and Stephanie Rees, 2, on the new swingset at Copper Park and helps Biittane Rees, 3, on the new Caterpillar. Parks and recreation maintenance worker Dan Fisher, right, works nearby replacing a recently broken waterpipe. 2002 fr- - . The impacts to Great Salt Lake wetlands would be similar to what occurred at California's Mono Lake from Los Angeles' diverson of its tributaries. The Great Salt Lake's 500,000 acres of wetlands make up the largest wetland area between the Mississippi River and the Pacific Ocean. More than 100 million mirgratory birds traveling from the tip of South America to the Gulf of Alaska rely upon the lake'swetlands. Because the Bear River would be diverted during summer months to irrigate lawns, much of the water would be lost to evaporation. This would reduce the amount of water flowing back into the Great Salt Lake. Water that does return to the lake would be of poor quality and laden with motor oil, household hazardous waste and other urban runoff. "It's incredible the Utah Division of Water Resources is still proposing to divert the Bear River while less expensive and less destructive alternatives are being ignored," Frankel said. Stamp Out Hunger food drive Saturday Letter erriers in Magna will be doing more than delivering the mail on Saturday, they will also be collecting food. Stamp Out Hunger is the tenth annual food drive sponsored by the National Association of Letter Carriers. Food collected in Magna will go directly into the MagnaFACT Food Bank and distrubted to local families. Residents that receive mail on Saturday are encouraged to leave a sack of non- - perishable food items next to their mailboxes for the letter carriers to pick up. Food items could include boxed or canned items such as soup, pasta, cereal,, rice, canned meats, fruits and vegetables. Last year, the nationas 240,000 letter carriers collected more than 70 million pounds of food to help those in need. This year the Campbells Soup Company is kicking off the drive &ith a donation of million pounds of food. 1 |