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Show .1 Thursday uztoijftXiiamriJCtofy 9oe3lg&MBMkr, sBRSf5S MS 'dV'1 Mdlr m 111th Year May 16, 2002 : V.fc i . i i vtf t.Av ihjLr .. Kts w s' , 'As.lA '. . vs " i11 i,: . Price, Utah No. 40 -, vaa at champfonsNps, CEU battles 500 6A ' ' 4 i Helper discusses water status, approves equipment purchase amount of paved road in the dty. Contrary to popular belief thp ..The money is saved in a state officials stressed that the curbs fund to help dties finance' for . The .Helper City Council and gutters are the responsibility necessary street improvement of the dtizens. Helper intends on projects. meeting May 9started with a resiBecause the sweeper is being dent raising an issue regarding a improving the appearance of the comment made at the last public dty streets, however, by using a purchased by state Kinds, residents will not be required to consweeping machine. gathering by Mayor Joe Bonacd. tribute financially. voted council The to purchase According to the resident, We have the lowest water mainthe in aid to machine one as was to referred living Helper in the 18th century. The com- tenance of the dty streets. The rates in the county. We do so by ment was made by Bonacd when equipment will cost $65,000 conserving water, not raising the mayor was explaining that the during a three or four year pe- .money. We also have the lowest Helper is behind the times when riod, depending on the lease property tax in the state next to Scofield. Our dtizens will only it comes to keeping the city agreement selected by the dty. The council reviewed several benefit from this equipment purstreets dean. Many cities across the state use the technology of a lease agreements from local chase which will also help out our street sweeping machine, while banks and decided to approve the street department, concluded Helper uses only brooms and contract with the least amount of Bonacd. The council also discussed interest Hie council will check shovels. issue of purchasing a new that the ensure the with banks to the The citizen disagreed. Bonacd explained that when quotes received by the dty are backhoe for die dtys water dethe comment was made, the correct then the final ratification partment. The decision was of the documents will take place made to purchase a machine, but thought behind it was only figuthe council will wait until its next at the nextpublic meeting. How. ratively speaking. By purchasing a street sweeping machine, the ever, the machine is expected to meeting to decide on which machine wiH be bought be delivered this week. city will only become more efI have got several more The purchase of this maficient. We can always improve our technology. It is impossible chine will benefit this council quotes and would like to look to manually sweep all the streets and the next and espedally the over the possibilities before de- in the city, stated BonaccL dty. This will be one less piece dding upon one machine. I want Councilmen Tbny Gonzales of equipment that will need to be to purchase a machine that the workers will be comfortable us- indicated that the dty currently purchased by the dty later on, mainCouncilman Robert to three workers ing, explained Welch. The issue explained employs will be resolved at the next countain this streets in Helper. The Welch. The city operates on a small cilmeeting. machine would make the streets With water expected to be in amount of equipment One thing cleaner and be much more efficient for the workers. that this city is definitely not short demand soon. Helper residents are currently on a restricted . Gonzales also explained that guilty of is buying a lot of equipwater schedule. Because of this the workers are not required to ment," stated Bonacd The money for the machine fact a complaint was made in dean the sidewalks and gutters will be provided tty the road fund. in front of private residences. regards to employees at Swifts This responsibility falls in the Hie money is designated for Stop and Shop wasting water by road improvement and mainte- - hosing off the stores surrounding hands of the dtizens. sidewalks. This is a practice that The resident responded by nance and is state funded. Allo(Continued on page 11 A) arguing that the gutters are the cations are determined tty the dtys responsibility to dean. By KAREN BASSO Staff writer - ... ' fjrfc sc-- . j - Cooperative effort culminating with deer barrier on U.S. 6 as part of a safety project on U.S. Higfn6.ThestatBtransportation dpartmentand Utah Crews install poles Division of Wildlife Resources have been working on barriers fokeep deer off the highway between Consumers . Road and Helper for several weeks, last year, the state le collisions along the agencies confirmed 88 local stretch of roadway. The number of related accidents constitutes one of the highest rates for any section of highway in the state. Barriers will be set up to allow wildlife to get off, but not onto the road from the west side. deer-vehic- Pet's companions assume liability forjanine attacks Carbon County residents may when measured as a percentage ' not be aware that Utah virtually-raise- s of personalincoroe, is not caused the states individual in-- -- by high rates but by low brackcome taxes by $4 million annuets, eiqilains the watchdog orgaally. Exceeding inflation and nization. population growth, tfre $4 mil- . Overall, Utahns pay 25 perlion increase occurs without de- - cent more toward state income bate, discussion or vote, main- - taxes than residents in other tains the Utah Taxpayers Asso- states. Residents with incomes ciation. between $35,000 and $50,000 more than The Utah Legislature should pay nearly one-thir- d in states. index income brackets for inflaother counterparts tion to prevent the hidden autoUtahs highest rate, 7 peroerit, is basically the same as the avermatic hike, stresses the indepen-deage for the 34 states and the Dispublic policy watchdog ortrict of Columbia that have inganization. j When brackets are not ad- come tax with brackets, contin-.ue- s the association. justed, the percentage of an Several states have flat or no individuals salary taxed at the income taxes and only three have highest rate accelerates as inlower top brackets than Utah. come climbs, indicates the assoIn the other 33 states, the top ciation. . income income tax tax bracket begins, on As a consequence, ; payments increase foster than average, at $60)00. The te average lowest tax bracket is wages. Hie result is especially earnlow for $9,400. Utahs highest bracket wage pronounced ed. registers at $8,626. In the 1970s when inflation For example, a Utah worker with an income of $14,000 will was a serious problem and bracket creep was a major isexperience a 4 percent tax increase for a 3 percent increase in sue, the United States Congress instituted automatic rate adjustUtahs high tax burden, rank- ments for the federal inoome tax. (Continued on page 2A) ing 14th highest in the nation The United States Postal Service is launching a week-lon- g public education campaign aimed at preventing dog bite in- Vi AAiis.'-'- J & nt h. cidents. Mail carriers are familiar with the potential dangers and have joined ranks in support of national dog bite prevention week, slated May 19 to May 25. By following several simple precautions, Carbon County residents can ensure the safety of not only the public, but also thie safety ofthe dog owner. The Humane. Society of the United States estimates that more than 4.7 million dog bites are reported to local authorities ' each year. Countless more attack incidents go unreported. Dog bites can range from a relatively painless nijTto-- a fatal 34-sta- fi tgpm V if Statewide closed fire season declared state forester has declared a closed bum season for all of Utah, extending through Oct 31. A closed season requires residents to secure permits prior to open burning. Permits are available from wardens, local fire chiefs and county sheriffs as well as forestry and state lands offices. The mauling. Dog attack victims account for up to 5 percent of all hospital emergency room visits, according to incident data compiled nationwide. Children are most often the victims. Of the 33 Americans who died from dog attacks between 1999 and 2001, 24 of the fatalities where children younger than the age of 12. Dog attacks are the most commonly reported childhood public health problem in the United States, according to national incident report statistics. The majority of Carbon County residents may feel confi- -. dent that their dogs wont add to the statistics. And the assumption that the trusty companion will never seriously harm anyone may be true. However, if a dog does attack or bite someone, the owner could be liable for the victims pain, suffering, and medical expenses. Potential high-ris- k victims include neighborhood children, unfamilar visitors, electric or natural gas meter readers and Law enforcementjmplements buckled or busted Memorial Day seatbelt stance Survey data indicate a significant increase in seatbeft usage at locations across uan. 10 snsuro mat motonscs are complying wnn ins laws, man law enforcement officers will be on the look out for drivers and passengers not seatbelts during the buckled or busted Memorial Day campaign, ; Mated May 20 through Jund 2. Survey results indicate that 2001, 77.8 percent of Utah drivers and ' front seat passengers used safety belts, a 2.1 percent increase from 2000. ; Wearing " f Utali 'hidden' tax . - Yfe are pleased to see that people in Utah are recognizing the value of buckfing up comments Robert Flowers, public safety department commissioner. Our goal is to continue to increase the number of individuals using seat belts and in turn see a decrease in the number of deaths and serious injuries on Utahs roadways. Utahs seat belt law requires that all passengers and drivers must use; safety belts when traveling in a motor vehicle. j:1 : mail carriers. There are several ways to avoid liability, according to federal agencies. Reducing the likelihood that a dog will ever bite someone helps protect the ownr, the canine companion and the members of the community. Although dogs may bite for a variety of reasons, spaying or neu tering has been shown to reduce aggressiveness. Bite statistics indicate that dogs that have not been spayed or neutered are up to three times more likely to be involved in a biting or attack incident. Lack of socialization, improper training, excitement and fear can all contribute to a dog attack. Even a nip on the leg is unacceptable behavior for a family dog, stress health and safety officials. Suggestions to help Carbon County residents take the bite out of pet dogs: Owners should teach dogs appropriate behavior. People should avoid playing aggressive games with a canine such as wrestling, tug of war or siccing the dog on another person. It is essential for a dog to rcc- - -ognize the members of the pets family as dominant figures not to be challenged. After adopting an animal, people should focus on becoming responsible pet owners. For the entire communitys' safety, pet owners should never allow dogs to roam. People should make the pet a member ofthe family. Canines that spend too much time tethered to a dog house or in the back yard have a much greater chance of developing aggressive behavioral problems. Pet owners should concentrate an staying on. the safe side. People should help a canine become accustomed to a variety of situations. If unsure will as to bow the dog react to a new kituation, people should exercise caution. If the' dog may panic in a crowd, residents should leave the animal at home. Ifthe pet may overreact to visitors or delivery people, people should keep the animal in a different room. lb alleviate safety concerns related, to visitors and postal de- -. liveries, Carbon County dtizens should adhere to several simple rules. Residents should plan to greet visitors at the door when possible and find out what time (Continued on page 2AI |