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Show Weather . r f 4 s s Vol. 58 No. Thursday, June 1 Twenty Cents 19, 1980 TWENTY THREE LAID OFF Coal Search Curtails Mining Operations Coal Search Corporation, which operates the Knight Mine east of Salina, curtailed operations last week and laid off half its work force, according to Leon Mayhew, who is in charge of local operations. Twenty-thre- e persons, all hourly workers, were laid off. Twenty-thre- e other staff personnel are still employed. The layoff and shutdown was done with great reluctance, Mayhew noted, saying he had a super work force. The mine is not now producing coal, he said, due to the soft coal market. The United States generally may be in a recession, but the Utah coal market has been in a depression for the past year, he commented. The firm, a wholly owned subsidiary of Energy Reserves Group, headquartered in Wichita, Kansas, has not found a market for its coal. What coal they have been able to market was sold at less than the cost of producing it. Were still in business, and hope to get back into the business of mining coal, Mayhew said Tuesday. Job possibilities for the laid-of- f workers in the coal mining industry are less than fantastic, according to the local manager, who has been seeking positions in Utah, Colorado and Wyoming for his former employees. Only one mine - in Hanna, Wyo., -- CYANIDE SPILL-Barr- els containing sodium cyanide spilled the poisonous pellets last Thursday about five miles west of Salina on Highway 50 when a tractor trailer hauling them from the DuPont plant in Tennessee to a mine in Eureka, Nev. went off the roadway. A vise the cleanup, which included spraying the pellets with water and Clorox to neutralize them. The Satina DuPont supervisor flew in to super- - Overturns Load Of Toxic Chemical West Of Salina Semi-Trail-er Salina Volunteer Firemen spent 14 hours at the scene of a truck wreck which spilled sodium cyanide pellets on U.S. 50 about 5 miles west of Salina last Thursday, June 12. The white pellets, about three-fourth- s of an inch square, are dangerous if inhaled or touched. James H. Wick, a production supervisor for E.I. DuPont De Nemours, the manufacturer, flew in to supervise cleanup of the spill which occupied from about 8:30 A.M. until 10 P.M. Thursday. The truck and trailer carrying the chemical, 200 metal barrels of sodium cyanide to a mine in Eureka, Nev., apparently ran off the side of the road. Utah Highway Patrol troopers said the driver, Harry Barbery of Burley, Idaho, lost control of the vehicle just after midnight Wednesday. He was not injured, but his wife, who was a passenger in the truck, fractured her wrist. The highway was closed briefly and traffic was routed around the accident while the cleanup crew worked. Masks and rubber gloves were used by the workers, who scooped up the pellets, which were hauled away. When all the pellets possible were picked up, the Salina was used to wet down the area. Clorox was sprayed on, then more water was mini-pump- applied, according to Jim Burr, Salina fireman. The chlorine in the bleach, along with the water, neutralizes the chemical, making it harmless, he explained. The pellets just lit up, a bright white, when we sprayed them, he recalled. The trucking company, Shoemaker Trucking of Boise, was hauling the chemical from the DuPont plant near Memphis, Tenn. About half the barrels broke open, and perhaps 10 spilled their complete contents, Burr economical operation. For example, Harward said, the plant processes a turkey at a cost of $2.60, and the growers spends $8 to raise the turkey, a total of $10.60. The processed turkey sells in the market for about $8. Its a losing battle, Harward commented. People want to be in- dependent, work by themselves, and do their own thing, and it just doesnt work in marketing. The plant employs about 100 persons during the season. Arrangements have been made for growers who will produce turkeys this season to send them to the Moroni turkey processing plant. Its not our desire to close the plant permanently, Harward said, adding aided in the at the site mini-pumpe- Contestants Wanted!!! I have seen so many beautiful places as I drive around Salina, Lula Anderson, chairman of the local beautification contest, remarked this has openings, and they sent a recruiter down here to interview our people today, he said, calling teh job outlook bleak. Other coal companies have been cutting their prices to stay in business, since coal is not booming. Part of the reason for the lack of demand for coal is government policy, Mayhew claimed. Government refusal and delay in granting sites for new coal-fire- d power plants has resulted in a lack of market for the coal being produced. "A new scare is acid rain, he noted. The media has inferred that acid rain comes from burning coal, week. She encouraged homeowners to enter the contest, which will be judged later this summer. Prizes will be awarded for the most beautiful in both new and older homes, and for the most improved. Entry blanks may be obtained from Mayor Leah Conover or at Andersons Food Center. This is the third year the contest has been held. Cash prizes of $25 for first and $10 for second are provided by Salina City. problem needs further investigation into its cause. Fear environmental problems from burning coal has prevented expansion ot the coal industry, as has lack of a government energy policy to encourage conversion from oil or gas to coal. The Knight Mine is capable of producing from 500,000 to 600,000 tons of coal per year, Mayhew said. The company presently controls 16,500 acres, which includes some 120 million tons of coal in place. One plot, Acord Lakes, is the prime site for development, and could produce 1 5 million tons of coal per year, according to Mayhew. More exploration is needed on another site, Rock Canyon, which lies south of Acord Lakes. The firm has advertised to conduct an exploration drilling program on the Old Woman Plateau, as required by the Bureau of Land Management, which handles leasing of government land. The land in question is U.S. Forest Service land Five test holes would be drilled on the property if permission is granted by the BLM. Presently, Coal Search is seeking a partner to operate the mine in a joint venture The mine property is for sale, and we are talking with several groups, one in particular, Mayhew stated. If negotiations are successful, the mine could be back in production by the end of July, he said. Its a tough thing - to cut back, We didnt start this he remarked. mine up to shut it down, and its unfortunate. We had a fine group started. Correction Colorado woman beaten in the head with a rock last week in the Gooseberry area was first found by Raymond Perry and Terry Heath, Aurora, and Brent Marks. A report from the Sheriffs office indicated she was found by Ronald Perry and Keith Hampton. A One Dies , Three Girls Injured In Dowim Collision With Bridge Abutment said. Sodium cyanide is used in refining ores from the Nevada mine. TTnmrlkey Pflaimti Sflntuitis Utah Turkey Growers Inc. announced Wednesday the Salina processing plant will discontinue operations this year, effective immediately. Gaylord Harward, manager and member of the board of directors, said low turkey production and declining prices for the finished product caused the shutdown. Five growers who are members of the company will produce about 300,000 birds this year. The other members do not plan to raise any turkeys this year. The plant needs approximately 450,000 turkeys for Fire Department cleanup, spending 14 hours r, with the which has not been proven. The whole that the plant and equipment will be kept intact in the hopes that production may resume next season. Last year was bad, economically, the manager noted, and precipitated a meeting Monday with the firms accountant when the decision was made to close the plant for this year. The plant needs to operate as much as possible. Now there are some weeks it does not operate at all, which is economically unfeasible. Other board members are Donell Spencer, president; Warren Harward, vice president; Kendrick HarDon Dobward, son, Grant Smith, Curt Spencer, and Brent Dobson. secretary-treasure- r; Four Colorado girls were injured, fatally, last week when their graduation trip ended in a one-ca- r crash against the Sevier River bridge abutment two miles south of Salina. broken pelvis, broken right arm, and lacerations. one in the back seat, Mona was transferred to also Oversteg, Utah Valley Hospital with a broken jaw and a back which was fractured in two places. She was in serious but stable condition. A passenger 17, Antoinette Cominello, 18, a passenger in the front seat, died in Sevier Valley Hospital shortly after the crash, which occurred at 7:30 A.M. Wednesday, June 11, of chest Terri Lynn Wiesner, 18, was treated for bruises and lacerations and released the following day. She also was a passenger in the back seat. All the girls are from Arvada, Colo., and had graduated from Pomona High School on Saturday, June 7. They were on a vacation trip to Las Vegas and head injuries. The driver and owner of the car, a new Monza which was a graduation gift from her parents, was Candace Tatro, 18. She was taken to Utah Valley Hospital in Provo with a and Disneyland. The quartet had left Arvada about 9 P.M. Tuesday night, and had driven to Salina, where they had breakfast at Moms Cafe, according to Miss Wiesner. She said all were talking, and that Candace had turned her head to say something to one of the girls in the back seat when she apparently lost control of the car and it hit the concrete side of the bridge. Miss Wiesner said they were thrown around by the impact, and she ended up in the front seat and Miss Cominello landed in the rear seat. Salina EMTs took the injured girls to Sevier Valley Hospital. m J4, A ( itf Irrigation Bids Over Estimate; Council Considers Alternatives Bids opened Tuesday afternoon for the new Salina pressurized irrigation system were above the engineers estimate for the project. The city council will meet with the engineer and the financial consultant next Wednesday, June 25, to examine the bids and consider alternatives, including trimming off various items to' lower the total cost. Actual awarding of bids will be done at that time. The apparent low bidders were Rodney Rasmussen Construction, Salina, for Schedule 1, which includes budding the storage reservoir, a total of $146,796; and K & P Plumbing, Provo, for Schedule 2, installing the pipe, $1,145,632. The total of the bids is within the amount approved in a bond issue by city voters last year, but would leave little surplus, according to Mark Peterson, financial consultant from Region West Associates. Nine firms bid on the two aspects of the construction project. Only K&P Plumbing and Lays Rock bid on both aspects. Schedule 1 bids were: K&P Plumbing, $176,200; Hales Sand and Gravel, $195,034; Hinkins Construction, $187,062; Lays Rock, $159,349, and Rasmussen, $146,796. Schedule 2 bids were: Lays Rock, The Tempest Co., $1,456,106; $1,422,020; Underground Utilities, $1,403,021; Noland and Sons Construction Co., $1,355,372; George W. Johansen Construction, $1,237,304; and K&P Plumbing, $1,145,632. In the city council meeting Monday night, the council accepted the 1980 81 fiscal budget as presented by City Recorder Don Burns. u Approval also was given to execute a memorandum of agareement to adopt a resolution to issue industrial revenue bonds for a new Salina office for Utah Independent Bank. Similar approval was given recently for a new office for Zions First National Bank. The bonds do not obligate the city in any way or affect the citys credit or taxing powers. ' as t' . - v'U - r - c .. ft- - At ihr i. Mn tfeT4 v m r A request to rent the city swimming pool for a disco dance and swimming party, at which admission would be charged, was turned down by the SSL City Judge Thad Wasden's report showed $2,452 in fines were assessed and collected during May F T L WRFCK-A- n Colorado girl was killed last when the compact car in " councilmen. Unanimous approval was given to a motion made by Wesley Cherry to maintain the swimming pool only for swimming. Wed-nesd- I which she was ridint! struck the conof the Sevier River Bridge about 2 miles south of Salina. crete abutment Three ether C'rls weie injured in the accident. Two ue still in Ltah alle Hospital with broken bones. i |