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Show Tuesday UDOT accepts comments on US. 6 Wednesday. Their input is very important to us. The open house consisted of a number of viewing stations positioned around a large room with a place for people to sit and fill out comment forms for UDOT officials to review. The stations included charts and information on a number of subjects relating to the highway. Station one described the ar- By RICHARD SHAW Staff reporter The Utah Department of Transportation conducted a series of public open houses last week on U.S. Highway 6 safety. The meetings were scheduled in Moab on March 26, in Price at College of Eastern Utah on March 27 and in Spanish Fork on March 28. The open houses had various levels of participation by the public, with the one at CEU having the most residents in attendance. We hoped to get some of the recreational crawl in Moab by ' doing it during jeep safari week there. But only about 20 people showed up to look at the displays and make comments, indicated Myron Lee, Region 4 public involvement coordinator. However, many of the local government officials showed up and we still had some good discussions eas the study will address. Station two detailed the types of traffic flow and numbers of vehicles traveling on U.S. 6. Station three was of particular interest to many of the local attendees - it contained the highways overall crash data charts. The data at the station documented the accidents that have taken place during the last lOyears and how UDOT intends to use the information to improve the road. The station was a doubly portant area because it was the item that the department wanted specific information on. UDOT representatives asked attendees to write comments about problem areas and to stick notes on the boards and table maps about where bad situations exist Station three also had a side site that allowed residents to talk with Utah Highway Patrol troopers who are invohvd in enforcement and accident investigation onU.S.6. Station four documented past improvements and listed what UDOT is planning in the future for the road. The comments taken at the open houses will be used to evalu-im- mid comments. In Spanish Fork on Thursday, a media mixup probably kept the numbers down as only slightly more than 40 people showed up. The Price open house had 88 people signing in at the meeting, according to Geoffrey Dupaix, the Region 3 public involvement coordinator. Carbon County citizens crowded into the center to view the displays, talk with UDOT of: ficials and fill out comment Easter Bunny greets Carbon children The Easter Bunny stops to greet Carbon youngsters while passing through the county last weekend. In addition to visiting with local children, tire Easter Bunny handed out holiday candy and treats to the youth. cards. Many of the people who have showed up are those who have lost loved onfcs on this road, stated Lee, as he mingled with die crowd at the college center on k i P&tikpf Iff a w fli mg 4 Rachel McQuillan, a Utah Department of Transportation consultant, speaks with Price residents during the public U.S. 6 information meeting last Wednesday. Officials indicate that 88 people showed up at the local open house and signed in for the event, by far the largest number to attend any of the meetings conducted last week in Moab, Spanish Fork and Price. made oil the possible improvements to sec how the proposed projects will affect the ecology of the areas. Next will come the final funding. which UDOT must seek from lawmakers at the Utah legislature. Finally will come the design phase and actual conslruc-tk- ate what improvements will be made during the next five to 10 years, according to UDOT. The public hearing was the first step in the lengthy process of a getting more improvements on U.S. 6. Once the input from the meetings has been analyzed, a safety study will be done by engineers which will prioritize and develop options for improve- When that fine stage comes, some improvements will be speeded up by new design-buil- d technologies that allow a project to be underway us it is being on page S A) ment The final options wjll be presented to the public at meetings in the fall. After the hearings, environmental studies must be Victim injured in accident-ne- ar Sunnyside Junction the left driver's side and came to By RICHARD SHAW Staff reporter An accident on U.S. Highway 6 approximately one mile south of Sunnyside Junction last Wednesday created traffic prob- lems and sent one victim to Castleview Hospital for medical treatment At about 721pm. on on Mardi 27, a southbound 2001 Toyota Corolla driven by Kelly Simon, 17 of Salt Lake, purportedly at- tempted to pass a tractor trailer rig, indicated Utah Highway Patrol investigation. In the process, the driver apparently misjudged the distance of another oncoming rig and struck the vehicle, pushing bade the second axle of the truck so it had to . be put out of service. The Simon car was smashed on rest about 50 yardsbeyond the tractor trailer it hit on the southbound side of the road. The driver of the tractor trailer it craning and swerved to saw rig the right, indicated UHP Hooper Jason Marshall. It was almost a head on between the two. The driver of that rig, Louis Allen, 50, of Collinston, was uninjured in the mishap. The Simon car carried three passengers, Robin Viavant, 18, Keith Walker, 18 and Nicholas Knowlton, 19, all of Salt Lake. Knowlton sustained injuries in the crash and was transported to Castleview Hospital, where the victim was treated and later released. . Everyone in die Tbyota was wearing seatbelts, except passenger car stands as a silent witness to a March 27 traffic accident near Sunnyside Junction. One man was injured when the driver of the car report-edly attempted to pass a tractor trailer rig last Wednesday night Although the the juveniles traveling Knowlton, added MarsalL He also the rally one injured. Simon was isaiedadtation for reckless driving and unlawful pur-- ing, but the alcohol was present in : the vehicle. It had not been consumed, said Marshall. In fact Simon ad- - A wrecked chasepossessionconsumptionof alcohoL None ofthe passengers travel-ing inside the car had been drink- - Utah Highway Patrol indicates no intoxicant was directly involved in the mishap, in the car, all from Salt Lake, were cited for unlawful possession of alcohol. The teen motorist received a citation for reckless driving. . milled to me that he had pmm-wa- s iscd his mother that lie wouldn't start drinking until they arrived where they were going. County housing authority assumes helm board appointed to oversee Helper mission By RICHARD SHAW Staff reporter The first meeting of the board of directors for ' Golden Rule Minion and Store was punctuated by discussion about whether the facility should let obviously inebriated individuals stay at the site on Main Street in Helper. The facility, formerly known as the Union Gospel Mission, is now under new management and leadership. The recently renamed institution is being run by the Carbon County Housing Authority and the agency set up a board of directors, which had its first meeting at the Helper public safety building lastweek. The first board consists of five members. The members include Nancy Boswell of the United Methodist Church, Kathy Morris of the housing authority and George Zamantakis, the Helper police chief. Also present was Helper Mayor Joe Bonacd, who attended in dace of Helper Councilman Kim Spradling who was unable to attend the first meeting. The fifth board members spot is presently vacant because the person selected to fill the position decided she couldnt fulfill the obligations. ' The debate regarding people who are under the influence arose during the adoption ofrules for the mission. As the rules were discussed, Morris brought up her concerns about the missions guidelines on the matter. I am worried about keeping people out of the mission because they are drunk, stated Morris. "They need a place to stay, too, especially when it is cold. ' Zamantakis, who had been elected chair of the board earlier in the meeting responded to her 4lCll M.MM4I j -- .Lp; gK Linda Varner, the administrator over the hous-in- g authority, and who was attending the meeting because it was the first one, thought there was some good middle ground in the discussion. If the person presents an altered state when they come in I think the mission could call the police and then an officer can advise those in charge what to do, she said. If we lake them in we wouldnt kick them out early in the morning ei- - Moms suggested maybe a hrcatlializcr test could be a good way to check for drunkene;ss, but Zamantakis seemed to think it could he more ample than that I think if they are having a problem with some- - one they should just call us." he said. Hut we dont want drinking problems to be associated with the mission. We need this facility to lie a positive to the Colleen Robertson, director of the The Golden Rule Mission, gave the board of directors a tour of the faci I itylast Wed nes-- day after the board meeting. The mission recently came under control of the Carbon County Housing Authority and We just had some problems with people being drunk and disorderly before, Zamantakis explained to the board. Wefl if its 15 degrees outside and they need a . place to go where do they go? Tb jail? are not adanger to themselves or others we dont take them to jail," replied the chief of the citys police department . . , much of tin building has been renovated. The new board of directors met for the first time last week, setting up by laws, rules tor residents and voting to establish a management agreement with the housing authority. One of the resident administrators then told the group that they generally only keep people out if the are really chunk. But then the question arose as to who determines their state of soberness. Theres a fine line, said Colleen Robertson, the mission director. If depends on whether it is a one time thing or something we have to deal with everyday. community. It was finally decided that the rules would be . adopted with the side note that the board would ' look at developing a definitive policy on how to handle those who present themselves for lodging who are drunk. The board also did the following. They adopted bylaws and articles of incorporation. They approved a management contract with the housing authority. The cost of that amounts to $5000peryear. . . They approved personnel policies that would pertain to any employees that may be hired for the mission in the future. Presently the mission has no paid employees, only a volunteer director and assistant director who live in the mission. Reviewed the goals for the upcoming year. Had a discussion about whom the mission was really for. It was brought out that for many individuals who stay at the sityCdhtfrmtaim jaagBiSty 1 |