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Show delay acting bn exploration company requests Commissioners the first time in recent years that residents came to a commission meeting to complain about how much they are being paid for the use of property and the alleged heavy handed tactics some exploration companies take. The issue also raised its head at a recent county planning and zoning meeting. The permits and zoning for the well sites were approved by that body. Dealing with the issue is a com- By RICHARD SHAW Staff reporter While ofl and gas companies exploring for minerals may appear like a boom to many people in Carbon County, to some residents the activities seem to be more of abusL That was the feeling expressed by many citizens who spoke at a conditional use permit and zoning hearing conducted by the county commission last week. At the commission meeting, the JA1 Huber Company wanted approval permits and zoning changes for 20 sites on which the operation plans on drilling wells for gas exploration. You know that commercial plicated matter.The county has no control over what firms pay people for the use of property and com- missions cannot prevent companies from doing business as long as the firms meet the requirements of special use and zoning. for the credit card where the bobsled girls are headed down the chute and they see a rabbit and stop the bobsled? exclaimed Dale Mathis, a property owner who Huber wants to lease land from to put in wells. Well ,1 feel like that rabbit They say on the commercial next time they wont stop and that isjust the way I feel about what Huber is offering us in payment for the use ofour property. During past years, various issues have been raised about gas exploration and development policies toward land owners, particularly regarding runoff control, dust problems and locked property. But last week was apparently com-pani- es However, the commission postponed acting on the requests until Huber representative Brian Wood could check with upper management to see what could be done to accommodate the land owners concerns. At the center ofthe issue is the feeling among land owners that the situation is a take it or leave it offer. Utah lawgjves the statesod and gas commission the authority to force owners of surface rights to allow gas and oil companies on private property to do exploration and drilling if the parties cannot come to a mutual agreement Huber hasnt offered us enough to compensate for the use of Ae land lbr what could be a vety long time, said Mathis. "They offer us a one time $800 payment up front and then can run the well for yean. We think they should pay us continuing payments. Mathis suggested that the companies shouldpay about $1 a day for each well site and $1 a day for i the roads the operations build on the property. Aslexplained during the planning board meeting, we cant get involved in the dispute you have with Huber over compensation, pointed out Commissioner Mike Milovich. Just the same, however, we want to hear your con-The discussion turned to the negotiations which had gone on between landowners and the company and what could be done to solve die problem. I have conveyed to. our companys vice president that there is a problem with the negotiations on some of these sites, Wood told the commission. But he told me that Huber would be sticking to its budget and only paying (Hie time fees. The problem for some of the landowners isnt just the onetime payment It is the fact that they are losing income from cattle property and other gas companies m the area reportedly pay land owners more. We lease our property to a gentleman who runs cattle on it (Continued on page 3) J Framed by the slats of a locked gate in the Emma Park area, into and pumps a precious natural resource. a well site taps In the past landowners have voiced concerns about gas and oil exploration companies failing to alleviate dust control problems and placing locked gates blocking access to private property. But at last week's county commission meet ing, the issue of fair compensation to private property owners was raised. As a result of related ongoing questions, the commission delayed voting on conditional use permits and rezoning requests from a company that is presently embroiled in negotiations regarding surface rights to property located in the Emma Park area. Outlook report attributes Utah's economic slump to national, global recession Utahs economy slowed down major industrial economies are in recession. during 2001, especially following the Sept 11 terrorist attacks on the United States. As the United States recov- ers in 2002, the worldwide The rate of employment economy should improve. With the current slack in world demand, Utahs exports are in the neighborhood of $1 billion or 25 percent lower than the state could expect with robust growth overseas, points out the report compiled by budget growth across Utah dropped from 6.2 percent in 1994 to 0.9 percent in 2001, indicates the latest economic report submitted to the governors office. The report attributes Utahs Castle Dale motorist Incurs minor injuries after vehicle hits snowdrift on U.S. 6 of the Olympics means Utah's highways are packed with motorists. Not many accidents have occurred due to traffic congestion. How- - As her vehicle veered off the road, Wilberg managed to avoid contact with a semi truck. The vehicle continued off the side of the road, flipping twice. In Summit 10:30 a.m. on Feb. 25, Helen Wilberg of Castle Dale was traveling east bound on U.S. Highway 6 near mile post 210. The roads were dear; however, high winds nearthe Summit had caused snow to drift across the highway. As Wilberg prepared to pass a Dodge Durango occupied by a Colorado family, her vehicle hit a snow drift Wilberg, who was traveling in the left passing lane, lost control and her vehicle dipped the Durango. the process, the Wilberg vehicle also took out the curve ahead sign just before the summit Wilberg was wearing a seatbelt and suffered only a bump on the head, according to the Utah Highway Patrol. She was transported to Castieview Hospital for observation and later released. The occupants of the Durango were uninjured in the incident The Colorado family, along with Wilberg were all traveling home from Olympic events when the accident occurred. The culmination ' ever, one mishap did occur Monday near Soldier At approximately Law enforcement investigators arrest suspect in Helper drug case By RICHARD SHAW Staff reporter An individual with a felony - record in three states W8S arrested last Wfednesday morning in Helper on drug charges. Earl Wayne Lewis, 51, was taken into custody at the Helper Hotel after a search of the mans room at the establishment reportedly revealed suspected drugs and paraphemahamhigpogsessioa We had a tip that advised us about this individual and his activities, indicated Helper Police Chief George Zamantakis. Because of that tty) and otherinfor- - mation, we were able to secure a search warrant the afternoon of Feb. 19 and executed at 2:40 am. the next morning. Upon investigation, the officers in the case, which included members of the Helper Police, Carbon County Sheriffs Department and the Carbon Drug Metro Thsk Force, found that Lewis has apparently gone by several alias mid used several Social Security numbers as well All these names and numbers were linked together however, in one way or another, stated Zamantakis. Aoronfingtolawenforcement hasarecord ofvarious felony convictions in three officials, Lewis states, including Nevada, Missouri and Utah. When the search was executed, the officers purportedly found suspected me thamphetamine, marijuana and drug paraphernalia. The suspect was arrested and booked into the county jail cm charges of possession ofmleth with intent to distribute. The incident was reported as an enhanced crime based on the feet die subject's residence was within 1,000 feet of a park. He was also booked on possession of marijuana. During the Investigation, con tact was reportedly made with Beverly Naumore, 34, who also lived at the hoteL She gave the police consent to search her living quartets and they reportedly found drug paraphernalia . Nairmorc was cited and released. This is another good example of police agencies working together, saidZamanlalds referring to the joint effort in arresting the subjects. We just want people who deal in drugs to understand that we all want to eliminate these problems finom our communittes and that all the police agencies in the county will cooperate to do that anytime we can. Eliminating life -threatening dangers encountered by youngsters By KAREN BASSO Styff reporter gers that children face. With dedi- cated parents and concerned Beingachild is not always simply amatter of fun and games. In dneat-enin-g met, dddrenfece many basis that onadaity dangers are often times overlooked by adults. Fortunately, the majority cf the dangers encountered by youngsters can be avoided with proper education and safety require-- merits, Listed are the top five key dan . . adults, children will remain safe despite the risks that face them. Lack of seat belt and child safetyseatuse.Motorvehidesare the leading cause of death for school aoe children. In 1999, nearly 5,700 children ages five to 18 died in traffic crashes. On average, 16 children were deaths could have been i For example, of the children ages five to nine who died in crashes in 1999, 40 percent were completely unbuckled. Many parents switch their children from safety seats to seat belts at too early an age. Safety seat use for children from ages one to four is 91 percent However, restraint use drops to 72 percent for children ages five to 15. Most children ages five to eight years old are too small to fit in an adult-size- d belt The youngsters should ride in a booster seat Buty streets, unsafe motorists. Pedestrian incidents are the second leading cause of accidental death among children ages five to 14. In 1999, 559 pedestrians ages five to 18 were killed after being struck by a motor vehicle, 109 of those deaths took place during normal school transportation hours in the 1998-19school 99 year. More school-ag- e pedestrians are kffled in the late afternoon than in the morning Most ofdie deaths (Continued on page 2) i, economic and employment slowdown to the im- pacts of the global recession. The recession in the United States should be relatively short and growth will resume at a moderate rate during the second half of 2002, predicts the report to the governors office. In Utahs case, budget analysts expect the state to experience a short pause in job growth after the Winter Olympics. The brief economic pause should be followed by moderate expansion statewide as 2002 doses. Utahs 2002 unemployment rate should register lovrer and job expansion should register higher than the national average, points out the economic outlook. But the pace of economic activity witnessed across the state will remain considerably lower than the pace Utah experienced during the late 1990s. Utahs population growth should slow in the upcoming months, indicates the report to the governors office. Reflecting the Olympics frenzy, net migration Remained strong in 2001, with approxi- mately 14,200 more people moving into the state than leaving. TIn 2002, net migration is expected to fall to 3,000. However, with a record number of births antidpated to occur in the state, Utahs population will grow 1.7 percent in 2002. The projected population expansion is significantly lower than Utah registered during the but continues to register considerably higher than the national average. Utahs current slowdown occurs against the backdrop of a weak international economy and a broadening U.S. slump, Explains the outlook report Virtually all of the worlds mid-1990- s, analysts For the United States, 2002 be a year of moderate recovery and consumer spending is expected to increase by 1J per- will cent. The gross domestic product is projected to grow only 0.4 per- cent as investment falls 5 3 per- cent However, growth will become stronger in the second half of the year. Positives for businesses and consumers include low interest rates and a stable inflation outlook. While Utah and the mountain states experienced robust economic expansion in the 1990a, . growth has slowed steadily within the last few years. Utah has managed to rank in the top 10 states in income growth, but has slipped to slightly below average in recent reports. The economic picture in Utah is directly paralleling the performance of the mountain region, which has dramatically slowed in 2001. The broad-base- d and rapid expansion reflected Utahs deep ening integration with the nar tional economy, points out the outlook report to the governors office. The global contraction has dampened commerce between Utah businesses and suppliers as well as customers in outside states and foreign countries. With instate construction continuing to decline, a boom' ing economy-wid- e 2002 is unlikely. recovery in Although the economy has slowed, Utah continues to out- perform the nation and the cure, rent situation represents a rt indicates the to the governor. tem-paus- out-repo- |