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Show Pag 2 Thursday, Scptautbcr 26, 1174 The Uto BuUetia Nurse Assigned to Ute Reservation Sidney Sealy, a registered nurse from the Lubbock. Texas area, has been employed as a Public Health Nurse by the Indian Health Service, according to Charles Wells, Service Unit Director. Miss Sealy completed thra yearsof service m Afghanistan with the Fwm Corps just prior to her arrival here Sept. 4. She is a graduate of Baylor University in Dallas. Miss Sealy, the first public health nurse ever to serve on the Uintah and Ouray Reservation, will assume Nurse Anne Coltharp's responsibilities until December while Mrs. Coltharp attends the University of Utah. After that time the Public Health Nurse will be helping with health problems in the communities. During jSOOTUB Fred T. Unco Sam Funeral services were conducted Aug. 29, 1974 for Fred T. Unca Sam of Arcadia at the Bridgeland L.D.S. Chapel. Mr. Unca Sam, 66, died Aug. 25 in a Salt Lake City hospital after a long illness. He was born Sept. 30, 1907 in Randlett to Togarvies and Nora Price Unca Sam. He married Daisy Washington who proceeded him in death. He is survived by brothers, Hugh and Myton of Arcadia, and a half brother Don, of Fort Duchesne. Burial was in the Myton Cemetery. home visitations, Miss Sealy will provide nutntional counseling, provide follow-u- p care for released hospital patients and provide general medical care as needed. Indian Manpower Director flamed Alexander Sandy" McNabb (Micmac), widely known originator of the Indian Action Teams when he was part of former Indian Commissioner Louis Bruce's New Team at the BIA, has been selected director of the. recently created Office of Indian Manpower Programs (OIMP) in the Labor Department. OIMP administers manpower monies under the new Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA). McNabb leaves Interior where he last served the Assistant Secretary's Office of Program Development and Budget. Under Louis Bruce, McNabb was director of operating services. WANTED Assistant Restaurant Manager for the Ute Bottle Hollow - Resort. Experience is not necessary. On the Job Training is offered. Interested persons may contact: Jim Poteet, Restaurant Manager ext. 281 722-243- 1, Ute Bottle Hollow Resort Sidney Sealy Public Health Nurse P.O.Box 124 Cs nnkAenA I link QdHOA Letter Of The Law In last months Letter of the Law article, the provisions of the Implied Consent Law" were discussed so that all members of the Tribe who drive would be aware of the fact that if they refuse to take an alcohol test when asked to do so by a police officer, they will lose their drivers license automatically. This month, this article will discuss what happens when a person does take an alcohol test when requested to do so by an arresting police officer. There are basically two kinds of tests used by police officers in the Uintah Basin to determine the blood alcohol content of a person who has been arrested for drunk driving. These tests are: (1) actually analyzing a sample of the driver's blood which is drawn from him or her by a medically trained person, or (2) the use of a Breathalyzer" machine. Each of these tests determine how much alcohol is in a person's blood. The amount of alcohol in a persons blood indicates how much alcohol more alcoholic beverages that have been consumed, the the person has drunk-t- he higher will be the blood alcohol content of a person since the body absorbs alcohol into the blood stream once it has been drunk. Based on scientific and medical tests, it has been established that it is possible to tell how drunk a person is by the amount of alcohol in his blood. Also by knowing this information about blood alcohol content, it is possible to tell whether or not a person who has been driving has been affected by his drinking, thereby making him less able to properly operate a motor vehicle in a safe manner. An actual test of the drivers blood is usually made in cases when there has been an accident or some kind of injury resulting from a driver's actions, and it is suspected by the police that the driver might have been drinking. Blood samples can only be taken from the driver, at a police officer's request, by a doctor, nurse or trained medical laboratory technician. The police officer himself cannot draw the blood out. Also, the driver has the right to have his blood tested or any other test administered to detect alcohol by a doctor of his own choosing in addition to the test administered at the direction of the police officer. Once the blood is drawn out of the driver, it is sent to a doctor, chemist or laboratory to be analyzed. The analysis is conducted according to established scientific methods and is able to accurately determine how much alcohol is in the persons blood. The results of the test are then sent to the police officer who can use the results to prove that the driver was drunk if there is a trial conducted on the drunk driving charge. The results can also be used to show that the driver was not drunk if the test indicates that there was no alcohol in the blood, or only a very, very small amount. Another type of test which is used to determine how much a person has had to drink is the Breathanalyzer machine. This machine can be operated by a police officer without the help of a medically trained person. The machine automatically analyzes the breath of the person suspected of driving under the influence of alcohol. By analyzing the breath of a driver, it is possible to tell how much alcohol is in the blood stream and also to tell whether or not he was too drunk to drive safely. A third type of test is sometimes used. This test analyzes a sample of the driver's urine and determines the amount of alcohol in the blood based on the amount of alcohol in the urine. The purposes of making these tests is that the law which applies on both the Reservation and the rest of the State of Utah says that evidence of the amount of alcohol in a drivers blood can be used in Court to prove that he or she was driving under the influence of alcohol, which is a serious crime. The tests provide information as to what the content of alcohol is in the blood, expressed as a percentage figure, such as 0.10. The law provides that if a persons blood alcohol content is less than 0:05 (thats five one hundredths of a percent), the person will be presumed to not be under the influence of alcohol. If a person's blood alcohol content is between 0.05 and 0.08, that evidence can be used to prove that the person was under the influence of alcohol, but it does not prove it by itself. If a person's blood alcohol content is more 0.08, the driver is presumed to have been under the influence of alcohol. If the persons blood alcohol content is greater than 0.10, the person must be automatically found guilty. The presumption" which is referred to above means that the fact of drunkenness or intoxication will be considered to be proved in Court unless other evidence is presented by the driver to convince the judge or jury that the person was not under the influence of alcohol. If no such other evidence is presented, then the Court will probably find the driver guilty of drunk driving. Tribal members should be aware that it does not take very much alcohol to make a person drunk in the eyes of the law for purposes of driving. Any time a person drinks more than two beers or two ounces of whiskey, it will result in his or her having a blood alcohol content above 0.05. A person will be presumed to be drunk or automatically found drunk any time he drinks more than four o r five fans of beer or four or five ounces of whiskey. Even though a tenth of one percent of alcohol in the blood may not sound like very much, it should be remembered that a half of one percent (0.50) of alcohol in the blood will kill the average person! Wine and certain other liquids can also make a person drunk. Tribal members should be aware that it is possible to have a high enough blood alcohol content to be found guilty of drunk driving sometime after a person has had anything to drink, or after only consuming just one or two beers, if the person has previously been drunk and the body has not cleaned all of the old alcohol out of the blood. This could happen when a person attempts to drive on the day after he has been very drunk or if a person drives when he is hung over. The person still has alcohol in his blood and that alcohol still affects what way he drives, even though the driver may not be aware of it. In other words, the drinking does not have to have been done immediately before the person drives in order for that person to be under the influence of alcohol and guilty of the crime of drunk driving. Tribal members should also be aware that it is possible to be convicted and found guilty of drunk driving even if none of these tests are given or if the driver refuses to take a test. There are many things which an arresting police officer ran observe about a driver to prove that he or she is under the influence of alcohol. A police officer can observe the way the person was driving-w- as he weaving, or on the wrong side of the street, or being reckless; he can observe the appearance of the eyes, messed up clothes, unable to stand up straight or walk without staggering; odor of alcohol on the person's breath; alcoholic beverages in the vehicle, plus other factors. A police officer can ask a driver to perform what is called a field sobriety test in which the driver is asked to walk a straight line, pick up a coin from the ground and other acts which indicate the steadiness of the driver. A driver who has been drinking is by no means assured to being able to get off by refusing to take a test when asked to do so by a police officer. At the very least, he or she will automatically lose their license under the Implied Consent law which was rfiwnwd last month; at the very most, he can not only lose his license but be found guilty of drunk driving as well and be fined up to $300 and serve up to six months in jail. These laws against drunk drivers are not intended to harass persons who drink. Rather, they are intended to keep persons who drink from driving while under the influence of alcohol and thereby threatening the health and safety of every man, woman and child on the Reservation. There have been too many people mud by drunk drivers on the Reservation for anyone to doubt the serious danger involved when someone drinks and drives. A couple of beers, a of wine or a jigger of glass hard liquor is all it takes to put the average person under the influence of alcohol and make him ineligible and unable to legally and safely drive on the Reservation. than driver-bloods- hot EDITORS NOTE: The above article was written by Boyden and Kennedy of Salt Lake City. ' |