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Show THE SALT LAKE TIMES FRIDAY, JANUARY 3, 1969 Page Four THE SALT LAKE TIMES Combined with The Salt Lake Miming 6 Legal Newt Published Every Friday at Salt Lame City, Utah Entered at the poctofftae at Salt Lake City as second class matter August 23, 1923 under the act of March 8, 179 711 South West Temple Telephone Salt Lake City, Utah 84101 364-146- 4 Mttte GLENN BJOKNN, "Tbit publication it mot owned or controlled by any parly, dan, digue, pwteen . Volume 48 Number 35 States Divided on Session Plans (Continued from Page One) sions to fiscal matters more or less on the pattern adopted by Utah, it was reported by the Foundation, a private, nonprofit public service agency. Colorado and West Vir- ginia reported definite improvement in government operations, especially fiscal controls, under this system, while New Mexico, Louisiana, and Hawaii noted varying degrees of dissatisfaction. The electorate in Hawaii approved a constitutional change in November which returns the state to biennial budgeting, although retaining annual leisltaive sessions. Utans first budget session, of 20 days duration (compared to the. 60 day general sessions' in odd numbered years), will not convene until January, 1970, but the 1969 session will be Utahs first legislative assembly to consider an annual rather than a biennial budget. The Foundation report noted that while the .1968 constitutional change authorized annual sessions, Utah statutory law requiring the Governor to submit a two year budget had not been amended. Observers see no real problem in this situation, as it should be possible to introduce and pass corrective legislation in the early days of the 1969 session, if it is deemed necessary, before the statutory deadline for submission of the budget on the tenth day, the Foundation said. Utah budget officials foresee both problems and advantages in the new system. The states budget officer expressed concern lest the shift to annual budgets keep him and his staff busy with budget preparation to the point where they cannot give attention to other essential duties including budget administration and analysis of management problems. The same official noted however, that We will have the same Legislature for two successive - bvudgets, so we may be able to get things done on the basis of first year experience. Conservationists Handed Chance the River In Vital Case on Snake The three way agreement recently reached by the Department of the Interior and private and public power utilities backing ereceion of the proposed Ap-paloo- sa Dam on the Snake River gives conservationists more time to develop and present their case for retaining the natural character of the river, according to the Wildlife Management Institute. As part of the agreement, the Federal Power Commission is being asked to suspend consideration of the issuance of a license to. build a dam on the Snake River for six months. This will give the Interior Department time to seek congressional approval of the compromise Appa-loosdam, upstream from the confluence of the Imnaha river and the Snake. Under the agreement .the federal government and the utilities would share in the costs and benefits of the project. The three interests, in backing a dam at the Appaloosa site, claim less interference with migrations and spawning of salmon and steelhead trout as a reason in part for switching downstream sites considered previously. Appaloosa is about 8 miles upstream from the High Mountain Sheep site, FPC license for which to the Pacific Northwest Power Co. was set aside by the Supreme Court on June 5, 1967. The court questioned the need for any further hydroelectric developments on the stretch of the river and voiced grave concern of natural about the destruction ' a resources. The agreement can be a boon to conservationists, because it interrupts FPCs consideration of the issuance of a license to build a dam and gives time to promote an alternative. There is a slim likelihood that Congress will be receptive to granting an authorization for the Appaloosa Dam in only six months. A further deterrent may prove to be Idaho Senators Len B. Joirdan and Frank Church, both of whom been advocating a 10 year The Foundation , report reviewed highlights of the have moratorium on more Snake year 1968, including a number of developments which River dams. Another obstacle to had been treated in considerable detail in research reports congressional authorization of the Appaloosa project is the cur issued various times the at . during year. It was noted that deficits appeared to be developing in the states major funds; that the cost of living continues its steady rise and that education continues to be the No. 1 area of state expenditure, by a wide margin, followed by highway operations and public welfare. Conservation at Crossroads The conservation movement is at another crossroads one created by the advent of a new administration at the helm of the executive branch of the federal government. LEASED rent tight budget policy, already fed- responsible for cutting back eral programs. Another energy helping conservationists is the technological shift in producing electric energy away from hydropower sources to the thermal generating plants. The costs of thermal production units are great, and utilities cannot afford to tie up their limited capital indefinitely by backing a compromise project that ever may be built. Conservationists in the Pacific Northwest have been working to put off the construction of more dams on the Middle Snake River. They know dams pose great hazards to salmon and steel head trout and thta much vital big game winter range will be flooded. They will propose that Congress create a Snake National River, administered by the Secretary of Agriculture to preserve natural character of 120 miles of the Snake River. . Hells-Canyo- n Bear Lake Yields Plenty Big Fish V 4 Gov. Calvin L. Hampton this week asked the Atomic Energy Commission to inform him if r fur-;he- testing of nuclear devices is planned for Utah. In a letter to the AEC the governor said his principal concern s radiation. Gov. Rampton said: I am becoming concerned by the atomic testing which is being carried on by the AEC in southern Nevada. I am certainly not opposing, and in fact favor whatever testing is conducted in an attempt to develop commercial use of atomic power, if such test-ndoes not present a hazard to the citizens of the United States. g Republican leadership of the Utah Senate this week said they will squeeze the Utah tax dollar like it has never been squeezed before in the upcoming 1969 session. Winter fishing at Bear Lake on the border in Rich County can provide some of the years best fishing, not in terms of number of fish, but in size of fish taken on both the east and west sides of the lake. Bear Lakes fishing is never very .fast, two or three fish a day is considered good success. Rainbow trout will be the fish found in the anglers creel most often, but a few cutthroat and Mackinaw will be caught before spring comes to Bear Lake. In addition, good catches of whitefish weighing one or two pounds have been reported. Most fishermen will be on the east side of Bear Lake where they may catch rainbows, cutthroat trout and Mackinaw in the four to fifteen pound class. Some large fish are taken annually from the Swan Creek-St- . Charles Creek area on the west side of the lake. The annual run of Bonneville Cisco around the east shore of the lake will be coming up in January and this will attract a large crowd of dipnetters. Utah-Idah- o the Republican Administration will build upon recent gains. And no thinking person can deny that material progress has been registered in the last eight years even though these gains well may not be enough. Highly significant legislation was adopted in the Water Quality Act and the Clean Water Restoration Act, both designed to curtail water pollution. This legislation, together with a policy determination by the Secretary of the Interior, sets a no degradation policy in that waters will not be allowed to become even more polluted than at present. To help communities, the federal government is making grants for waste treatment plant construction. However, the Johnson Administration has not sought appropriation of the full amounts of funds authorized in the legislation and there is hope that Mr. Nixon will recommend full funding. Generally reflecting the conservative approach, the Republicans in the past were notably unenthusiastic toward big outlays of cash for conservation programs such as water pollution control. Among the important items of legislation which only narrowly failed enactment in the 90th Congress was a water polluution control bill which would have allowed advance contracts for treatment plant construction and ?r greater controls over oil pollution and waste from vessels. What will be the new approach to This situation woudl have resulted, regardless of who was elected to the Presidency. The only difference might be in the degree of changes. At the moment, it appears that the administration Richard M. Nixon 'has one of three of President-elec- t routes to take. 1. initiating totally new policies of resources management, posibly ones which could result in conservatoin setbacks; 2. relegating the problem of meeting the nations outdoor recreation needs to a low priority, or 3. building upon gains recorded in the last eight years since the Republicans last held office. While recognizing that changes in direction are not necessarily bad, with fresh approaches and new ideas frequently working for the overall good, conservationists certainly hope and urge that the latter course is followed that these problems? GROPEVINE dis-liarg- es That statement was made by J. Barlow in announcing chairmanship of several Senate committees. Sen. Pres. Haven Rand McNally and Co., Chicago, is low bidder on a contract to supply Utah highway maps for the next three years the Utah Highway Department said this week. The low bid is for $168,-000 for thee years or $58,000 a year. Salt Lake County Auditor Glen F. Palmer this week asked dismissal of a declaratory judgment suit against him and suggested that what information he has concerning recent land purchases by the county be turned over to Third District Judges for possible call of a grand jury. A drive to sponsor a commu- nity junior college in Bountiful was launched this week by a group of city and civic leaders, who met for two hours with Dr. Merle E. Allen, director of Utah Coordinating Councel of Higher Education. Dr. Allen told the eight member delegation that Bountiful is one of two or three prime locations for the states next junior college. He said it is too early to commit Bountiful or any other potential site. Another half a percent local option sales tax is needed to meet deficits in retirement systems for police and firemen, it was disclosed at a meeting of the education committee of the Legislative Council this week. - Dr. Joyce D. Johnson, director of the LDS Hospitals emergency room and outpatient service for the past eight years has resigned to study heart diseases. The Legislature should establish an Ethics Committee in each house to determine if any conflict of interest or unethical conduct exists among legislators, the Code of Ethics Committee of the Legislative Council recommended. Sen. Red Bullen said the penalty which could be enforced by such a committee would be to recommend suspension of membership in the Legislature. . |