Show H UJ h'i 7 Serving Utah's Great Pahvant Valley Single Copy USPS Vol 92 No $ 75 26 January 2 2003 A look back at 2002 hathy Walker County residents experienced tragedies and triumphs during 2002 providing opportunities to come together to grieve and to celebrate As we look back at the past year the Chronicle Progress staff wishes our readers a safe and prosperous new year We pledge to continue our efforts as Millard County’s only community newspaper to provide coverage of local news publish official legal notices and record history as it is nude Jacqueline Nicole latch was Millard County's first baby born in 2002 She arrived Wed Jan 2 at 6 42 p m in the Delta Community Medical Center Parents are I errell and Rosa Hatch of Abraham New mayors in Delta and illmore were sworn into office as the year started Vernon Sam Starley assumed the position of Fillmore City Mayor and (iayle Bunker as Delta (Tty Mayor in ceremonies Jan 7 at city offices Margaret Dutson was sworn in as a and Ross Delta council member Melv ille and ugene arsen were also sworn in as illmore council members The County Commission adopted a policy allowing public meetings to be opened with prayer Jan 14 The invocation should not exceed two minutes and must be voluntary Although the majority of county residents and government employees are I Saints the resolution prohibits reliBy Delta Middle School students donated 6 900 pounds of food to the West Millard Individual class contests were conducted and the winning classes awarded with pizza activities Sub-for-San- By program Dec parties or other 20 fun programs help needy families ta hathy Walker The West Millard 500 pounds of canned items along with toys and clothing Intermountain Power Protect employees gave the progiam about 200 wrapped packages to help those he estiv al of rees comin need mittee donated $9000 follow ing tlleir annual event “It was a really good year for us and we had a lot of support for the community" Ruling said "Individuals from local organizations also helped wrap the many gifts before " they were delivered I he I ast Millard program under the direction of Past Millard county employees was also successful according to volunteer Chris Stevens Bags of gifts were de another program is responsible for nuking the holidays brighter for 261 kids in the Delta area Christmas Ive Wrapped gifts and food boxes full of everything for Christmas dinner were delivered by West Millard Sheriff's Posse to 80 needy families “More than four tons of food was donated to the program this vear” said posse member and rector Alan Riding “After completing the food boxes needed for the program we were able to give the food bank 6790 pounds of canned items " Delta Middle School students collected and donated 6900 pounds ol canned goods for the program Students from Delta High School donated livered by the ast Millard Sheriffs Posse to 9 children in 42 families (iifts were donated by local businesses and individuals throughout the community One poition of the program is the Snowflake Tree at the County Courthouse in illmore Residents choose a snowflake from the tree with a child's name sex and age printed upon it and buy appropriate gifts Contests at Fillmore Plemcntary School yielded 1400 pounds of canned goods which was donated to Central Utah Food Sharing “Although times are hard the generosity of residents was overwhelming this year" Stevens said IRS wants to give $487358 back to taxpayers The C S Postal Service returned 800 refund checks to the Internal Rev enue Serv ice that could not be delivered to Utah taxpayers Refund anxnuiU range from S to S2 732 ith an average of $609 Refund checks go astray for reasons that can vary ith each taxpayer Often taxpayers move or change their address and fail to notify the IRS or Postal Service laxpayers missing a refund check should first check their records or contact their tax preparer then call the IRS Refund Hotline at laxpayers can avoid undelivered checks by having refunds deposited directly into a personal checking or savings account Direct deposit also guards against theft oi lost refund checks he option is available on paper returns and electronically filed returns More than 39 7 million chose direct deposit this filing season up 7 5 percent from last year Change of address forms can be obtained by filing orm 8822 with the IRS he form can be downloaded at wxvw irs uov or call Good economic news at last Millard County's economy seems to be on the mend after struggling for years and job growth increased by 2 percent according to a report by the I’tah Department of Woikforcc Scrx ices The county is adding employment while the nation and I tah loses ohs Unemployment rates dipped to 4 percent during the first half ol 2002 ven though overall employment growth has improved some industries continue in the malaise Mining manu facturing trucking retail trade education health and social services lost positions Professional and business services showed strong growth Other industries included construction wholesale trade and utilities Construction figures followed its usual erratic trend irst quarter permitted values were down 12 percent while second quarter numbers were up less than percent When combined authorized 2(M2 permit allies showed a 3 perccrt decrease in comparison to the pervious year During the first half of 2002 24 home permits were issued and evenly split between illmore and Delta Cross taxable sales were down about 2 percent in second quarter 2002 when compared with the prior year's figures However first quarter sales grew by 18 percent Retail sales expanded by 20 percent in both quarters while service sales dropped Sheriff’s Office urges driver awareness By hath) Walker Driver error is the culprit behind the rash of accidents seen in Millard County since Thanksgiving and the Sheriff's Office is urging drivers to slow down and drive safely "We are cracking down on all traffic lolations" Deputy Rhctt Kimball said “We arc especially looking at drivers that speed or disobey yield and stop signs " A total of 53 vehicle accidents in the county since Thanksgiving holiday those accidents were 7 were injury accidents Most of accidents are attributed to driver occurred I has the ol and the ror w uh only a few being weather lated “We have been luckv that none of the accidents resulted in fatalities However at the current rate it's not a but when" Kimball said question of “We want to urge duvets to be careful and stay safe " Millard ( nuntv Sheriff s Office toined a counts wide effort with the I tah Hiehwav Patrol to cover Dl shifts I he state funded extra coverage starred Indus and ended Monday Kimball arrested three Dl drivers during the shiftSijnstKS from the I tah High Patrol wc re iiiuv a liable at press time All 911 and incoming calls from West Millard were routed to the Sheriff's Office substation in Delta after fiber optic lines west of Fillmore failed West Millard Sheriff's Posse members were called in to man phone lines from Thursday Dec 26 at about 9 a m until the follow mg morning at 9 a m when fiber optic lines were re paired Posse members dispatched depu ties to the calls received at the substation We reallv appreciate their " help Kimball said Happy New Year POOR COPY gious preference The Olympic orch Relay bypassed Millaid County as the torch headed for the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City Former residents Clarence Robison of Provo and Mike Brown of Ncplu were chosen as torchbcarcrs and carried the flame eh 5 Hie Olympic spirit was fanned as county residents participated in events held during the Olympics with several residents attending events and others serving as volunteers Delta High School hosted the 2 A Boys and (iirls Basketball championships eb 28 through March 2 Residents hosted several families administrators and officials from participating schools since local motel rooms were booked A bronze sculpture of Mark Twain arrived at Delta (Tty ibraryJan 24 Purchase of the sculpture was made possible by a Community Impact Board ( irmt for construction and landscaping of the library expansion I'mvcrsity of Utah physicists conducted an experiment known as the Telescope Array at the Black Rock Mesa southeast of the Treat Stone Face Data collected helped measure energy and direction of the highest energy cosmic rays and may help determine the source of the particles Several Delta High students participated in the experiment which ended m the fall when funding became unavailable Board of ducation members approved replacing the Millard School District building in late January he 19 000 square foot facility is estimated at a construction cost of S 8 million and is slated for completion July M 2004 he M illard ( ounty cnc mg ( om mittee holds the record for the shortest length in existence Die nine members were appointed by the ( ounty Commission anil after their first meetthe committee was dising cb solved The committee unanimously voted to keep the current fencing-iordinance and proposed no changes Millard I aglcs won the State 2A Wrestling Championship with a record 420 points The aglcs qualified 28 wrestlers for the tournament at Southern Utah mvcrsity and every wrestler contributed to the win Millard High had seven individual champions County deputies were kept buss with four vehicle thefts within a few hours Feb 20 in the Delta area Ihc thefts are another reminder for resi dents to lock the door and take the keys to their vehicles Fillmoie's Alpha Batters 1" Battal icld Artillcrv returned from ion 45 21 days of annual training and a secmission of supportirg ondary the Winter Olvmpics in crowd super- soluler unit departed he vision eb 5 and returned eb 22 Bud loveis floe ked to celebiate the arro al of thousands of lesser snow geese for Della's annual Snow loose he festival sponsoicd by estival the Delta Area ( lumber of ( 'ommcicc and the Division of Wildlife Resources ran eb 2 through Match 2 bringing in visilms from throughout the state Delta High Rabbits look their lust stale wrestling championship as a 3A school and then 26"' overall title eb 16 Delta's idol y over two time defending champ Wasatch at )ixic Stale College was the Inst wrestling title since 199 Residents inspected the Millaid County oiling Oidmaiice in mid he ordinance officially March adopted in Aug sets forth vuious permitted land uses in distnclx areas throughout the umncoipoiated of the county One mi)or change m the proposed ordinance was the of 40 acies lot a single lam ily residence and the elimination ol and half acre lots in agiiciil tuial zones which caused some con he tioveisy by residents was replaced with a minimum fm a single family home belore it was adopted by the County Commission Chronicle Progress staff walked away with three fust place awaids al Better the Utah Press Association Newspapei ( ontest in Maicli Kathy Walker reporter won Best News Story and Shellie Dutson accompanying news photo won Best News Photoghe filial first place award was raphy designed for a local retail business by Dutson and Roger Walker Ihorpc Wadduigham received awaids ol mcr its at the annual Utah Water 'sets Association in late Male h achycu WUA honors those who have the significantly contributed to the nidus try dining then lifetime Alex Boultonof Salem was lormallv announced js president ol Blush sources Inc which encompasses the miles north ol Delta extraction null and the beryllium mine in liiaht ounty Millions of newly hatched Momion rickets swarmed many pails of Millard ( ounty meatlv spring Anus sive baiting program was undertaken on federal orcst Service land in a combined effort by federal and and private propeitv ownki ts and ers he battle to control continued throughout grasshoppers most of the summer Howard Johnson was named as aimer of the year by the Delta Soil District He served as Conservation director of the District for 16 ycais and chairman for the past few years succeeding the late Wcslev Peterson WestMillardt arc enter residents celebrated the arrival of a newly purchased bus May dona turns from throughout the community helped purchase the specially bus w ith a whceli hair lilt More than $ 4 was donate d w it Inn six weeks lie 7' “ annual Jr ivcstnik Show opened ill late May with moie than 200 exhibitors at the participating Millard ( ounty augrounds in cltu and was the biggest show hosted to date Onlv registered Republican enters cast ballots in the June 28 Primary andnlate Damn Smith won the tion election overriding incumbent Steve om Diaper for the Seat B ountv mission slot Smith assumes the position Jan 6 he Saw Mill Basin Stc am ngme assumed a permanent position in the he Delta ( its I’aik in la'e June engine's five owners consigned it to the ( ity lor as long as it is wanted 14 year old bov from ustin lexas died fulv x while hiking on the t ot wist desert about 'it miles Di ha as part of a ilderm ss proeiam tor troubli d youth Ian uuist appar entlv died of lie at stroke or heat ex haustion while participating in the skyline loiuncv progiam based in Nephi Ihc Millard ountv ttortiev s Office fded criminal charges against two individuals and the company in July Ihe kem River 266' xpansion Proect was approved by the dcial omiiiissioii in rift Regulatory Ihe construe lion July project runs to from southwestern Wyoming southern dlilotmu of the Ihe fill anniyirsaiy opui mg of the lojw liileiiuiK ill amp was coinmemoiated hi ugiist with him drills of residents and isitois attend lie lutein mg a lull day of events ment anii about Hi miles west of 12 1912 and Della opened Sejit 000 Japanese housed as many as Alltel n an citizens It dosed Oct ’I PMS illmoie Ini tense ii of ( 'hat tit was named Miss Millaid 2MI’ at tin aunt wa Aug ' pageant Hannah Allcndanl and chosen as acv Meiidini uisen was selec ted as 2 iit into Water leslr n lions were place throughout the siiiiiiih in many Millaid ounty towns and ities most visible fleet ol tin dioui'ht appeal to be agrimlliual National Weather Neivrce statistics sliowid piec ijiitat hi in a time month peiiod al 19 to fill of noimnl Mter serving as Public Winks In Neil icctoi foi moie than 2' veai oisiet leliied in 6) from Delta! its Alan Ruling was appoint! d a Ins ( iutison Inn nil High be gan u mg seventh and eighth giade xtu denis Irom in am on It iki skelalc in mid Ainmst alii an aim e n lent between the M laid Se bool In tint and White Pine ounty Se bool tistiie was finalized Ihe aesthetic quality ol water in d may fasis and line kley teseiet residents in the small eommumlies to pun base bottled drinking water to n avoid the unpleasant sally ia!e eliipiound aquifers cany ini’ ill moie ills that natiii ally leak throodi the soil were to blame ainudiii" to uls town of Joshua hi allioiisi wiboojed into the Millard ounty lnluntinit ha ticks son cliuges alter ill the De Ita area Sej’t tilaiult' lie tell hay stack lues de stioyed more than 600 tons of hay value d at $220 000 approximate Dcsiuii plans were finalized bn the Millaid ate( enlei in De lla dnnne late ( he 60 bed fat tlily to house- lone term can- j'ntiiiitx is sihcduhd bn lie site construction Marc h s 200 nte lor the 'X 867 square fool ate atloins the Delta omuiumtv Medi cal enter c ij’le turn date is ex ted about one vc at altei nustruc lion be gins Dl Rav a uiiothy siijh iiiliiident of the Millaid School dix Nov to u pt a position tint ill as an associate Stale Siijh mlt rule ul tab Stale Boatd ot for the dm ation Dave ole was i''oinlc d a ink mi disk let siijhi mli in It ill iHil lace result dullin' the Nov It tum we n deti mini it net a by 48 I'ete enl of Millaid 60 J ounty i'lte red vote Is Rt public an me mil be lit aar ox dt h ated k mo it undulate Pam man lor the 8 n ounty ommioon jmxition In the lull xxi sxoi rue Democrat ounty all'ol n tame d In stranrlcliolf on the ' cliil Republican position arain it longer )av id M Hinckley linen! ItikDarliiK Wibh was arrested m mi November after an investigation revealed misuse ol public monies an tamper ini- with records Webb was harced with five thud electee felonies am! three class B misdemeanor Iht- ( htixtnux season col into full sw mg m Dt Ita and illmore w ith its from Santa parades entertain merit and other a tiv ities the wc ke nl of Ihe after hanksgiv n at their Decs raiseil mou than $1 2 annual event donating $9 hmi to the West Millard Sub tor smta proe tarn ’o tin- lot al food bank and $ he pi he ition ol Millard ( ountv 's s emploee s si'jiiis by ihe ended ihc ve ar hinniih I' 2"02 Many residents expressed ap tide some cemntv employ predation ces were ujiset by he revelation 'o rafoi |