Show The Herald Journal Logan Utah Thursday April Page3 4 1996 Holmgren: Long term care future uncertain After three different tentative By Cindy Yiirih staff writer t ! ! With a Medicaid compromise had a workable compromise funding Medicaid with block grants to the states Holmgren said Those hopes were dashed Wednesday when the agreement engi- neered by Gov Mike Leavitt and other governors having been rejected by congressional leaden Utah is back to square collapsed one on its plan for Medicaid reform state Sen John Holmgren told a group of about 30 people attending a seminar on “As of today it appears the whole thing has fallen apart again” Holmgren said “Somehow people across this care in Logan Wednesday long-ter- m agree- ments had fallen through the small group of governors finally thought they nation have got to let the federal government know we need this program fixed” The controversy hinges on whether the states or the feds should control Mediccare costs for aid which pays long-terindigents and nationwide is responsible “The bottom line is as of today we don’t really know what’s going to happen or where we’re going” said HolmRiver City who serves on gren R-B- the Senate’s Health and Environment m Committee for 60 to 74 percent of nursing home could have both guns and butter” Holm- gren said while lawyers devised ways to shield their clients’ assets from Medicaid’s poverty assessment criteria so that bills according to Holmgren Leavitt wants to reduce the burden of federal regulation so he can switch more recipients to managed care and cover more people Some senior citizens groups and advocates for the poor argue that fewer federal regulations would people who weren’t really poor were receiving benefits “They’ve convinced people that this is free” the state lawmaker accused “I get disturbed when 1 see newspaper ads that say ‘Come in and visit with me I’ll show you how to protect your assets’” Meanwhile federal regulations have gotten more and more “out of control” to the point where "a nurse spends more time working on the paperwork than tak- translate into lower quality care Holmgren carried the Republican governor’s banner at the seminar “The closer we leave the decision to home the better off we’ll be” he argued He blamed Democratic President Lyndon Johnson and the nation’s legal pro- ing care of the care fession for the present long-ter“fiasco” Johnson “began to think we m observed client” Holmgren However the pendulum is swinging the other way he said “The federal government has finally-recognizethat there isn’t any free lunch out there” the senator noted He praised thq recently passed Health Insurance Reform Bill thru allows people with life insurance policies the option of of their money out for taking some health care needs and provides tax incentives for “medical savings accounts” “I think we’re moving ia' a direction today where a family can help” he said "If they can afford to pay $10 (toward long-tercare) then that’s what they should pay If they can afford $100 then they should pay that” m State sets up quake sensors across Utah By Genae Stevenson Although the state staff writer Utah officials have installed new earthquake sensors around the state in hopes of eventually making buildings more earthquake-resistant The Utah Geological Survey instruplaced a motioo-sepsin- g ment in TYemoo ton’s fairgrounds as well as in six other locations throughout the state on March 28 in order to measure ground movement during earthquakes According to Gary Christensen manager erf replied geology with the agency the data collected by the instrument will be used to design buildings that are more nt earthquake-resista- Although the state presently has 30 instruments in place the earthquake in only Utah was in 1962 by an instrument located in Utah State Unstate-record- iversity’s Old Main building Christenseff said There are not epengh instruments to “catch” earthquakes he said and adding more instruments ia Ttemonton Kaysville Draper 'Santaquin Gunnison Beaver and St George will improve the likelihood of fc" Brent SfrensUsnSd Journal Thiokol wants payoff on policy SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Thiokol Corp wants Lloyd’s of London to pay $36 million on an insurance policy that covers a rocket motor r t t development program later canceled by the government A suit filed in US District Court Hjrs Lloyd’s r tt one of the world’s most prominent insurance underwriters has not responded to the aerospace contractor's requests to pay the claim Lloyd’s b disputing the coverage the suit said The suit alleged Lloyd’s is breaching its insurance contract and unjustly enriching itself at r Thiokol’s expense The suit stemmed from a 1993 motor project headed by EER Systems of Virginia under contract with the University of Tennessee’s Cabman Center for Space Transportation and Applied Research EER contracted with Thiokol in March 1993 to develop and manufacture three Castor IV solid rocket motors for the lower stage of a launch vehicle intended to deliver commercial experimental satellites into Earth orbit The next month EER contracted with Thiokol to provide Star 48V motors to power the upper stage of the commercial launch vehicles As a term of the contract EER took out a $313000 insurance policy with Lloyd's to indemnify Thiokol against losses for “nonrecurring development costs” in the event the project was canceled In May 1994 a little more than a year after Thiokol signed the contract to develop the rocket motors NASA canceled the program and EER notified the northers Utah aerospace company to halt its work in June obtaining earthquake readings Before the addition of the Marty Bullen boot and Unda Morse play tennis this morning at the Logan Community Recreation Cantor despite the chilly temperatures Forecasters are predicting the weather will remain pertly cloudy and cod today with a warming trend this weekend Spring tennis ed instruments the state agency was using data from California and other areas “We were using California data because we weren’t getting read- - presently has 30 instruments In place d the only earthquake in Utah was in 1962 by an instrument located in state-recorde- Utah State University’s Old Main building ings in Utah” he said “But we have different earthquakes here Our present building standards are based on a national standard code but are these standards appropriate for this state? We are looking to create localized building codes” site-speci- fic Obtaining local records is important Christensen said because certain building strucresctidifferwuUyioearth- s depending ©is -- the acyiSMiempHtudeiofifhe tures E" ' For example stiff brick structures break down easier in a high-frequen- cy quake but tall structures are in danger of collapse under a cy quake he Mid When will the study be complete? “It’ll be awhile” Christensen said “First we need to catch a few earthquakes” River Heights residents to be polled on city Volunteers will deliver forms to all residents By Phi Jensen staff writer RIVER HEIGHTS — A questionnaire will be next week to residents asking them what kind of city they really warn The future of River Heights could hang in the balance when city officials thumb through results of the survey to help determine policies “We want to find out how residents feel about their city and what should be done to maintain as well improve city services” said Mayor Robert Davis hand-deliver- ed u Tuesday Davis Mid “With this information we can identify problem areas that need attention and propose action which will help solve these concerns” Davis said Several months ago Davb put together a game plan that focuses on controlled growth The central theme of the plan which Davb ran through the City Council b annexing unincorporated Cache County land to expand city boundaries and at the same time maintain a “quality of life" The questionnaire covets such things as environ mental issues recreation and community needs Davb Mid a major concern among city officials b a growing problem of vandalism and other petty crimes that he suspects b partly a result of young people with little to do Last month River Heights appointed a Youth to identify City Council of 14- - and issues of concern to teenagers and recommend solutions Meanwhile the council has asked residents to report all suspected crimes to the Cache County Sheriff’s Office which provides law enforcement for the Logan suburb to increase patrols Preston trying to keep costs for school down By Charles H Featheretone jilTT WIHW Preston School District’s desire to build its new middle school for $31 million may just work “From day one I knew we were up against the wall with this but when you’re using taxpayer money there b no other wav” Mid Ted Taylor superintendent of the Preston School District IVeston’s current plans call for a middle school at about $33 to $62 per square foot or about $275 to $31 million for the whole 50000-square-fo-ot school Tkylor bases his expectations on the design experience of Jay Chrbtopherson an architect in Providence who designs inexpensive modular schools Christopherson’s appeal to district administrators b that he designs basic schools that can be easily added onto later Preston’s middle school design has a possible upgrade to a high school six or seven years later built into it and the vaguely d design allows for expansion at the end of either classroom wing “These are starter schools mostly classrooms” cross-shape- Christopherson Mid The Providence architect’s schools are scattered across northern Utah and Idaho and be b well-knoamong superintendents and district business designs managers for “We’re very happy with the school” Mid Jim Pehrson the finance and operations director for Burley School District in Burley Idaho A 683 student intermediate school (grades four five and six) designed by Christopherson was completed b the Burley distort in May 1995 school at about “That was a $58 a square foot A school somewhat comparable to what we have here would cost $62 to $63 a square foot” Pehrson said The total cost of the school wu $41 million and according to Pcrhson wu designed for 730 students “We’ve worked with Jay before and we like him because he builds quality at a lower cost” Pehrson said In Filer Idaho the school district b building an 85000-square-fohigh school for S51 million or about $60 a square foot cost-effecti- 71000-square-fo- ot ot 450-stude- nt “We think this b a bargain” said Filer Schools Superintendent William FeuMhrens "I’m seeing $95 to $127 a square foot for a number of high schools and they're beautiful facilities but we don’t have that kind of money He offered to put up a good solid building It's not the Uaj Mahal bid it’s adequate for our needs” Feusahrens Mid that the Filer high school which will be completed in May will have room to add more classrooms and expand the school to 730 stu- - dents Tkylor said that Preston plans to keep the costs of their middle school low by not only using an inexpensive expandable design but by purchasing all of the construction supplies themselves and managing their own construction site “If you purchase the supplies yourself you get the bonus of being a organization and that 623 percent sales tax adds up” Tkylor said Tkylor also hopes to get a good interest rate ou a loan “We got a nibble at about 42 percent Anything pt under 3 percent makes that $Jl million look good” the Preston schools chief Mid Idaho prosecutor area residents want Ligertown operators jailed Idaho (AP) — Bannock Hietieman wants to jail the Mark Prosecutor County former operators of the defunct Ligertown game farm and residents of the southeastern Idaho area believe it should be for a long time “Six months jail time b not out of die question” Hiedeman said durirg a town meeting Tuesday LAVA HOT SPRINGS night y i - jfcL r£t £ i'i- - S t r- w-- - But some residents in the area where 19 exotic cats were killed after a number escaped from the ramshackle compound believe Robert Fieber and Dotti Martin should pay the maximum penalty of 6 12 years ia jail and a $3900 fine for their 13 misdemeanor convictions ia correction with running Ligertown “They should be prosecuted to (be full extent of the law” resident rhil Becsom said as the crowd of 80 applauded The town meeting wu called so prosecutors can recommend what type of sentence Fieber and Martin both 57 should receive But it was not likely that Magistrate Mark Beebe would be (hat severe at the April 18 sentencing Hiedeman said Ia fact be raised (he possibility that the pair could be placed on probation for several years with a prohibition against having aiwi mj collecting junk He Mid be will likely recommend a substantial jail sentence if probation terma are violated “We definitely want a lot of jail time barging over their heads" Hiedeman said Bannock Coven Undersheriff Tom Canfield added |