OCR Text |
Show . PAGE 29 THE ZEPHYR OCTOBER 1992 Medical Waste Incinerator Update Domestic Violence in Grand County by Lance Christie by Connie Blaine Really? In Moab? That's the response I sometimes hear when I tell people about my work at SeekhavenMt happens here? Yea, it happens here, to people you know.r"It" Is domestic violence, spouse battering. It is a crime. And it is a serious and growing problem everywhere, including . in Grand County. Domestic violence takes many forms: Hitting, slapping, kicking, shoving, hair pulling, and more serious injuries are obvious examples. But threats, destroying objects and hurting pets are also abusive behaviors intended to intimidate and control The abuser may start out being very possessive and jealous; he may spy on his partner and accuse her of affairs or other wrongdoing. It usually escalates in severity with the woman feeling more and more trapped as he uses increasing intimidation, threats and physical violence to control her. Very often children see and hear everything that happens. They certainly feel the fear and anger in the home and are forced to "walk on eggshells to avoid setting the adults off. It's a very damaging pattern to learn, and results in a cycle of abuse down through the generations. Here in Grand County, we have about the same rate of domestic violence as in foe state and nationally. And we know that foe vast majority of domestic violence never gets reported. The woman fears revealing what is happening at home for fear of reprisal by her partner and possibly because she feels shame, and blames herself for his violence. Like rape, domestic violence is often blamed on the victim. Many myths surround domestic violence in our culture: The woman must not mind, or she wouldn't stay; she provoked him by something she said or did (one that some law enforcement personnel hoe have been heard to say); women like to be shown who's in charge; a man has a right to control his wife. All these myths add to the problem. They make a man feel justified in committing foe crime, and they put such a stigma on the battered partner, she may be afraid f ' to ask for help. Anne (not her real name) came to the shelter when her husband had threatened to kill her-a- nd she knew from foe increasing severity of injuries he had already done to her that he meant it She had to run away barefoot, in the middle of the night and walked into town from Spanish , Valley, hiding on the side of the road whenever a car passed "in case it was him looking for me". She had left her children, and spent the few hours she was at the shelter worrying and crying for them. In foe morning, she felt she had no choice but to go bade, because of her kids. It will take enormous courage and a lot of support for her to leave. She has never had a job outside her home because her husband would not allow it She has no money of her own. She also is certain he would hunt her down if she leaves. Leaving him will require making a plan, trusting and involving others in it to help her, keeping it secret until she can go, running with foe kids and leaving town to hide and start over in a new dty alone. Domestic violence continues, and is increasing because most people don't want to think about it, talk about it or face the issue in their own lives. A conspiracy of silence lets the damage to families go on. e . Domestic violence is not usually a thing, but a cycle of growing tension, perhaps a long period erf arguing at hostility that finally ends in the use.of violence to assert control the abuser begs forgiveness, sends flowers, Typically, the "honeymoon phase" then begins-wh- ere The victim it swears hell never do again. may very much want to believe him and hopes he will change. In any case, she may not be able to leave either from fear of being killed, no money, no 'V place to go, no job skills, or simply no hope left It takes outside intervention for the cyde of domestic violence to be broken. Only when the victim has support and can find safe shelter can she escape. Only when she is able to rebuild And only when all of us start . her life and get help for her children too, is foe cyde broken. secret will our little real facing society's dirty healing begin. ' In our last episode of "Green Riven As the Waste Bums," we found Continental Thermal Destructors had lost its president to a federal penitentiary, and his successor had announced engaging a different engineering company to build a different (?) incinerator than foe medical waste incinerator Continental got a permit for on December 13, 1989. In this episode, we discover that the new engineering firm is named "Euthenergy Systems, Inc," with headquarters in Memphis, Tennessee. Euthenergy is a company which builds y municipal solid plants, hazardous, pathological, and hospital waste incinerators, with a business volume of $1 million per year (Thomas Register, 1991, p. 1102). The "Chief Engineer" for Euthenergy corresponding with foe state on permit matters, however, operates from a P.O. Box in Sanford, Midiigan.(??) The Utah Division of Air Quality wrote Euthenergy on November 22, 1991, asking for additional information. The incomplete materials sent by Euthenergy between June and November of 1991 describe a rotary kiln incinerator essentially the same incinerator design as was proposed by CoWest for foe hazardous waste incinerator in Cisco. Since Division of Air Quality did their "Best Available Control Technology BACT" review over two years ago on a different incinerator design, another one has to be done on a complet package of information to continue Continental's permit. Con tinentalEuth energy have never produced foe necessary materials for this review. On May 21, 1992, foe Division of Air Quality sent Continental a letter stating that, if the materials required were not in hand within thirty days, the Air Quality Permit for the Continental incinerator in Green River would be officially waste-to-energ- 0-pl-us - cancelled.' . For those of us following the issue, the fundamental question continues to be: what might Continental profitably burn in a rotary kiln, and where is there a generator of waste to whom it makes economic sense to pay the cost erf shipping waste from Point X to Green River, instead of burning it nearer to Point X or disposing in a different way (like recycling)? Even if Continental had a specific market targeted in 1988 which made the incinerator project appear economically feasible, major changes in the waste disposal market have occurred in the past three years. Utah now has licensed, operating hazardous and medical waste incinerator capacity in Tooele County three times foe size of the total Utah output of waste; the majority of waste to fill the facility is imported from California. Various waste disposal facilities have developed in adjacent states, apparently leaving only western Colorado as a waste source without closer incineration capacity available. Continental's inability to' define an incineration facility is probably due to an inability to define a market capable of supporting it , 1 the only place to get the fresh roadkill of the day one-tim- i FINEST FAMILY RESTAURANT OPEN 6 am. 259-835- 2 COME IN FOR THE BEST HOME COOKED MEALS . Seekhaven helps victims erf domestic violence and their children. We can provide safe shelter, counseling, and other services. If you need help with your own domestic violence problem, or want more information, call us. Well help. But Seekhaven is always in need of money and volunteers, and the demand lot services continues to grow. If you can contribute either time or 9. money to keep Seekhaven going, please contact Seekhaven Family Crisis Center at 1075 So. Hwy 191 . 259-222- ELECT PETER HANEY t County Commission November 3 ui- a commissioner for, everyone - ' ' - . honest & accessible open & respectful fiscally responsible ,r.. ; : ' - - , 5 years experience improving the community "the man in the middle for, balanced government" n Wayne Owens Peter Haney . Jimmie Walker .T . . ' .. Ar - , |