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Show ' Tuesday I 11 May 28, 2002 Price, Utah 1th Year -- No. 43 500 Fishing pond opens at Helper, IB I County panel exploring Consumers dam concept Staff reporter cated Beak Whter would be diverted from the Price River in the Heiner area to fill the reservoirs. The idea of developing a middk drainage reservoir in Carbon County has been around for years. At the first meeting of the could be done in the winter when Hows are not utilized as much and stored in these reservoirs, said By RICHARD SHAW water development advisory committee formed by the county, the - concept was the main topic of discussion. This idea of putting a dam across the Consumers area and putting a reservoir there in its present formulation is like a concept car, said Tbny Beals of the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), a representative on the committee. It is fraught with a million problems, some of which may well be of the type that they could not be overcome. Carbon Commissioner Bill Krompel pointed out that the - county is looking for solutions to the water problems it encounters every so often and the idea is one of many officials have considered. We seem to go into drought cydcs every four to six years, said KrompeL Hopefully, this committee can look at some of the agenda items and we can come up with some solutions. I know that most of the solutions we can find will not be cheap, but we need to look at how to solve some of these reoccuning problems. Beals and Dave Vfcmer of the NRCS have spent time in the last few weeks using map overlays from the comitys geographical information service to devdop tentative plans on the project I have some maps here, but you dont have handouts on them because they areaconcept and that only, said Beals. The two projected maps detailing the possibilities, including having a dam cross the valley above U.S. Highway 6. The option would wipe out the road to Consumers. That, of course, is the first problem, said Beak Coal haul trucks use this road continually to go to Wildcat load out. Tliat . would have to be rerouted. Due to the topography in the area being considered, Beals pointed out that two reservoirs rather than one would be benefi- cial. The smaller reservoir could conceivably store 4,000 acre-fe- et and the larger 15,000. The reservoir would not be a new source ofwater, but utilizing resources in a different way, indi . We are thinking that this Beak The plan also included a small reservoir in Warehouse Canyon above Carbonville, which could store up to 3900 acre-fee- t, possibly filled by winter Sows through the Spring Glen Canal system. The concept is similar to the creation of the Millsite Reservoir a few years ago in Emery County. Approximately 50 people attended the meeting, including committee members and interested citizens. Many raised questions and concerns. Remember, I told you this is fraught with a million problems, said Beak But after looking at the area, there arent many good sites to put in this type of reservoir, largely because of elevation problems. If the county is really interested, it would have to do a feasibility study on it." Consbuctingadam in the Consumers area is not a new idea, indicated Carbon Commissioner Mike Milovich. The county did a study in 1996 on this very site, stated Milovich. The soil tests in that very area were not conducive to having a dam placed there. The people we had involved at the time told us it would be much more feasible to build a reservoir like this in the Famum area and then pump the water back up to the top of the county." Mflovich also pointed out that the Farnum idea, according to the consultant engaged by the county, was superior to developing a reservoir to utilize the White River runoff before it entered the Price River. With that information, the discussion turned toward alternatives like putting a dam across Gordon Geek near the railroad bridge. But it appears geographic and elevation problems might make it difficult to do. The fact is that, anywhere you want to do anything Ike thk will require a lot of study and, in turn, will also have many obstacles to overcome, said Beak fcter projects are expensive-costin- g about $2,700 per acre foot to develop, pointed out Beak (Continued on page 6A) SUV reportedly evades collision on U.S. 6, careens down embankment into river Rescue workers from the Helper City Fire Department and the Utah Highway Patrol carry a victim injured in a traffic accident Saturday afternoon up the embankment that leads to the Price River. An alleged improper passing inci-itent purportedly forced the sports utility vehicle off the roadway and into the Price River near milepost 225 at approximately 2 p.m. on May 25. Apparently, a second vehicle was attempting to pass on U.S. Highway 6 and ran the SUV off the road. The SUV careened down a hill, hit a tree and rolled over into the river. One occupant in the sports vehicle was able to get out not long after the accident occurred. Later Saturday afternoon, local law enforcement officials launched an effort to locate the vehicle that purportedly caused the accident Helper city discusses water concerns at public meeting By KAREN BASSO Staff reporter The Helper City Council opened last Thursday public to allow citizens to voice comments about issues plaguing residents. One issue involves the water restrictions in place in the city. Business owner Bob Farrell addressed the council with a situation at his car dealership caused by the water restrictions. I cant sell cars ifthey are dirty. Without being able to hose them down at least twice a week, it is difficult to keep them dean sitting on the side of the highway, explained Farrell. A similar problem has arose at Swifts Stop & Shop convenience store. The staffhas found that it is difficult to keep sidewalks dean and free of debris without using a hose. The problem was addressed at the last council meeting and the decision favored alternate ways of cleaning the sidewalks like using melted ice or dirty mop water. We recognize that there are trouble spots in the dty which need to be treated accordingly. We dont want to make the businesses . mad, but we do need to watch the . water situation also, explained Councilman Kirk Mascara. Ifwe could wash the cars twice a week, on Monday and Thursday, we would be able to keep the cars dean before and after the weekend when most of the dirt accumulates on the vehicles, we would be satisfied, said Farrell. We would be willing to clean Eastern Utah woman gamers honor Eastern Utah's woman of the year recognition belongs to Leslie Tallerico. She has served on the Helper Main Sheet and library boards, the city board of adjustments and American Cancer Society. For 10 years, she acted as overseer for a float in the Electric Light Parade. She has been instrumental n acquiring monies for the completion of the Rio Theatre in Helper, sparheading the committees for fund raising the cars between 7 and 9 a.m., which are acceptable watering hours in the dty. The water which we use while cleaning the vehicles is well below the minimal water allowance. Im sure that we wont use as much water as is used while watering a lawn, continued Farrell. The council agreed to allow Farrell to wash vehicles during the spedfied times only. The council also dedded to allow Swifts to clean the walkways once a week. So for. Helper has done a good of job conserving water. I f the water situation worsens, we will have to cut off the agreement, ex- plained Coundlmen Bob Welch. The council voted to allow the usage only if conservation practices take place. Dont let the water run while the cars are being scrubbed. We trust that the water will be used responsibly, indicated Mayor JoeBonacd. The council also discussed the fact that current water usage is down 100,000 gallons a day because of the conservation efforts the dty has partidpated in. Anotherwater issue in the spotlight recently.is the opening of the fishing pond. The pond opened May 25 and is currently supplied with portable toilets. But the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources wants to build a permanent structure filled with flushable toilets. DWR representative Daris Jones approached the council (Continued on page SA) Utah, nation struggle to recover from employment losses . Financial problems and em- ployment losses continue to plague residents in Utah and across the United States. k Ending May 11, the four-wee- , . . Check iregs before placing markers Headstones mark the final resting place for residents who have passed ' away. But the stones often do not meet cemetofy regulations. " ,1 Before platings monument tree, shrub ora physical marker on paves, citizens are required to obtain permission from cemetery officials. In the eypnt a monument fails to comply with cemetery regulations, including size restrictions, the marker or stone wifl be removed expense of the ned of kin or family survivors. lo eliminate fore purchasing at the potential problems, citizens are encouraged to check be--. a graveside maita: initial unemployment average insurance claims filed across Utah registered at 1,966. The number represents an increase of 9peroent from last years average of 1,799. Personal bankruptcy filings jumped 15.2 percent nationwide during the period ing March 31. The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts indicates nearly 1.5 million Americans filed for: bankruptcy protection within the designated period. In Utah, penonal bankruptcy filings climbed 25 percent during the period. Nearly 20)00 Utahns filed for bankruptcy protection. The number of new jobless claims rose nationwide, registering in excess of 400XX) for two months, reports the U5. Labor Department r OORXO rr r , The data show the highest num- ber of people receiving extended benefits reaching the highest level in more than 19years. Economists view jobless claims in excess of 400)00 as a sign of a lackluster labor market, explains the Utah Department of Wort ' force Services.. Economists also indicate that new hiring typically lags behind other sigra of increased economic activity during a recovery. The number of Americans collecting unemployment benefits,, rose to 3.86 million for the week of the Mty 4 - a sign U.& citizens are stiugglingtofindwork. The latest figure is die highest posted since 388 million in February 1983. Compounding the financial woes foced by unemployed Americans, consumer prices in the posted the biggest jump in nearfy a year. Statistics compiled by the US. Labor Department confirm that the consumer price index experi-enca sharp d5 percent increase U. cd in April 2002, the largest gain since May 2001. . A hefty 10 percent rise in gasoline costs helped push up prices. Excluding volatile food and energy costs, the CPI advanced a milder 03 percent Production by U.S. manufacturing, mining and utilities industries improved in April, boosted by gains in automotive output. In die agencys monthly report on industrial production, the US. Federal Reserve indicated that overall output climbed 0.4 percent, while the amount of capacity in use by firms rose slightly to 75.5 percent. March production was also revised downward, to a 0.4 percent gain. Inventories at U.S. businesses fell for the 14th straight month in March to the lowest level in more than two years even as sates rose. The US. Commerce Department issuedareport showing com--, paniesmayneedtotampuppro ductiontokeq) up with demand. Business inventories in March . were down 0.3 percent after witnessing a foil of 02 percent in February. Inventories in March totaled $1,117 trillion, the lowest level since October 1999. After a d March, USj tight-fiste- consumers splurged in April, boosting retail sales by 12 percent, the biggest increase in six months, points out the Uik Commerce Department. The April advance came after retail sales nudged up 0.1 percent in March. Increasing retail sates activity was stronger than the 0.6 many analysts. The nations trade deficit witnessed a slight improvement in March as sales of U.S. products overseas outpaced an increase in imports. The Much deficit narrowed to $31.6 billion, representing a 0.4 percent improvement from the February trade gap of $31.8 - the biggest imbalance reported in 10 months,' indicates the U.S. Commerce Department I |