Show LocalMetro Ogden Obituaries Classifieds Standard-Examine- r C County defend s oo invention expense By WENDY OGATA Standard Examiner staff The Weber County commissioner who oversees mental health services says sending 20 employees to a mental health conference in Las Vegas this week at taxpayers' expense is "a good investment" In a telephone interview from his hotel room Commissioner Roger Rawson also denied the Las Vegas location of the conference had anything to do with the number of workers sent to the conference other than the fact that it's the closest the conference has been to Utah in awhile iimmi- - The number sent to a conference increased of the mental this year to one-thir- d health staff because of the 'close proximity and many of them saying they would drive down on their own if the county paid for the conference registration and hotel room' — Weber Commissioner Roger Rawson The last couple of years the National Council of Community Mental Health Centers conference has been in Washington DC and New Orleans nn twnnMinnnOTmmni ing exclusively issues with Davis County sent five people to this year's gathering Salt Lake Staff workers drove down and County reported sending seven or arrived Wednesday for the eight people conference that wrapped up "Weber County has always sent Friday m innr lw three or four people" Rawson said The number increased substanof the tially this year to mental health staff "because of the close proximity and many of them saying they would drive down on their own if the county paid for the conference registration and hotel room" Rawson said he and two board members flew to Las Vegas Monday for conference sessions deal- SI- - namimam re " Wf mW ' i I Saturday April 5 1986 The county auditor's office reports that slightly more than $7500 was approved in advance last month to send 21 people to the conference Commissioners Rawson and William Bailey signed the purchase order form Bailey said he questioned the expenditure when he got the purchase order Upon further checking he said staff convinced him the conference was worthwhile to attend and a rare opportunity to have it as close as Las Vegas "This is a working an educational convention experience" Standard Examiner staff Pumping water out of the swollen Great Salt Lake into the western desert should be viewed as insurance against "what we hope will never happen" says Weber County Commissioner Robert Hunter Hunter said he sees pumping as the only method to ease flooding problems along the Great Salt Lake The fact that pumping — if approved immediately by the Legislature — would not affect the lake level until the 1988 flood season does not change his opin- r ion "This needs to be looked at not as a question of whether the lake will go up or down but do we Jeff Conductors guide tour Ogden ordinances match state laws Union Station asks volunteers to climb aboard Standard Examiner staff Ogden's heyday as a junction city for transcontinental passenger trains may be over but the Union Station Conductors are making sure that bygone era isn't forgotten 10 am to 6 pm the Six days a week conductor volunteers don uniforms of white shirts dark blue vests and red neckerchiefs and guide tours through Union Station's various museums "There are 72 conductors but we need well over 100 to do the job the way it should be" said Gene Roberts president of the group About 24 additional conductors will be needed to man the Union Station Express shuttle train when it starts running in a couple of months he said Another 10 are needed to guide tours and staff the gift shop five would help out with office work and three media specialists to catalog memorabilia are also needed Roberts said each conductor volunteers for about four hours a week Shifts run from 10 am to 2 pm and 2 pm to 6 pm Many of the conductors work a job or are retirees from various professions A person need only be 8 years or older to join up "Sometimes people think we're only retired railroad workers but we're not We come from all walks of life" said Roberts a retired military officer Membership includes accountants businessmen a retired dentist a forester and railroad workers In addition to working at the museums he said the conductors have luncheon meetings once each quarter to talk about subjects of interest such as railroad history They also have an annual banquet "One of the fascinating things about being a conductor is the people we meet from all over the world" Roberts said He recalled tours of Boy Scouts from Japan and German tourists and military officers The volunteer work also increases awareness of local history and provides an opportunity to work with other people he By GORDON Standard tff!lfl?l3 m Mr tions Monday on how to best tackle the flooding problems The task force recommendations will be sent on to Gov Norm Bangerter who has said he may call a special legislative session to deal with flooding issues Critics of west desert pumping say it might not be necessary because the lake may subside to more normal levels by 1988 Pumping the water to the desert could cost as much as $90 million But Hunter said that cost should be balanced against the crippling effects the lake might have on Utah's tax base and the lakeshore industries Officials say Southern Pacific Railroad's track will be wiped out if the lake rises another foot and the dikes and drying ponds at Great Salt Lake Minerals and Chemicals Corp are in danger of being swallowed up by the lake Western Zirconium located near Little Mountain in Weber County is also keeping an uneasy want to buy that insurance policy" he said "This needs to be viewed as insurance against what may happen and what we hope will never happen" Hunter said he will be pushing the western desert pumping plan Monday at a meeting of the Commissioners Task Force on eye on rising lake waters Flooding composed of officials "Southern Pacific has a $3 bilfrom the six counties directly af- lion on this state" Hunter fected by the level of the Great said impact "And Western Zirconium Salt Lake has an annual payroll of $18 milHunter who serves as task lion Those things are in jeopar-dy- " force chairman said he is "almost positive" the group will See PUMP on 2C with final recommenda come up Conductor Charlie Donker demonstrates a gadget used to pass messages to the train engineer By WENDY OGATA "So there's therapy for the individual plus the academic side so can see what is new that' happening and also how we arc relating with the federal government" n "It's a good investment" said we ommissioner will push plan to pump lake By SUSAN IPAKTCHIAN '" Rawson said "Of course there's the R and R the relaxation but I think as a public what we have to recognize is that people who are working in the county dealing with complicated human problems that are need the opportustressful very nity to know that other people are doing the same thing Examiner WEEKS gal staff The Ogden City Council Thursday approved ordinance amendments that prohibit giving false birth dates to officers require seat belts for small children and outlaw drinking alcoholic beverages in vehicles Spence Seager (left) conducts tour through antique auto part of the museum The ordinances all match state laws and were proposed as a "housekeeping situation" to make them city codes said Ogden Police Chief Joe Ritchey All three were passed unanimously with no comments during the scheduled public hearings One amendment makes it illegal to attempt to mislead a peace officer by giving a false birth date The city code already specified that supplying a false name or address to an officer was ille Another amendment makes it an offense to drink alcoholic beverage in a motor vehicle while the third requires child restraint devices by operators of vehicles The restraint laws which require children under the age of 5 to wear seat belts contain many loopholes and arc hard to enforce Ritchey said Children are not required to use seat belts if the driver is not their parent or guardian he said "Some people ignore the law and some blatantly ignore it but (the law) allows us to pull them over to tell them about it" he said All three ordinances become effective approximately April 29 said Ogden City Recorder Donna Adam Auction to raise funds for counseling services By AMY JOI BRYSON Eaminef staff Standjrd Htm Clark mhUMem - mMmmmmmmmk Reese 7 of Boise watches a model train chug along the track said "Volunteers make this place run" he said during an interview in the conductors' lounge at Union Station we "If we didn't have volunteers wouldn't have the Union Station museums" Roberts said In addition to the railroad museum Union Station is home to the Browning Firearms collection the Classic Car Collection and the Myra Powell Art Gallerv The conductors also assist in tours when special exhibits fill thestation's grand lobby Russ Parmley vice president of the conductors said he joined the organization about four years ago "1 enjoy it I enjoy meeting people and it helps the station" he said Persons interested in joining the conducor tors should contact Roberts at Museum Coordinator Shirley Hanson at Mona Bailey probably could afford to get counseling if she ever needed it But she knows that some Ogden area residents don't have that We Salute luxury — vide it so she's helping a Texas native Bailey on the board of directors ily Counseling Services pro- serves of Fam- association ofThe fers everything from marriage counseling to helping people deal with job stress "They do such good work" she SEE SALUTE on 2C Mona Bailey |