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Show Thursday tilth December 12, 2002 Year-N- o. Price, Utah 100 'tr&W 500 Vikings smuggling for victory, 6A rt Carbon County employment, economy rebounding in 2002 Carbon County appears to be recovering from the impact of the Willow Greek Mine tragedy that reverberated through the local economy. In the first half of 2002, jobs rebounded in the county. The expansion has resulted in a drop in the local unemployment rate. The unemployment rate registered at 5.6 percent in October, only slightly higher than the states 5.1 percent average, pointed out a local economic perspective recently developed by the Utah Department ofWkxk-forc- e Services. Non-far- m employment opportunities jumped in Carbon County during the first two quarters of 2002 compared to last jobs rose 3.4 peryear. Non-farcent in first quarter and 6.5 percent in second quarter. A rebound of approximately 180 employment opportunities in coal mining helped boost the Carbon County economy, indicated the workforce services rem .'ff ,, : . nj ' 3- vrt h1 f W-1 port Service production jobs increased in trade, health care and hospitality. Goods production employment was robust, adding more than 200 positions in the local t '20..'- 4. 'flr ill labormarket Price emergency personnel respond to fire at El Rancho Price emergency personnel set up a gasoline powered fantobkw smokeoutoftheQRanchoLounseaflerefire started in afu mace motor tinder the stiuctiira on Wednes-- day afternoon. Due to construction on Cartonvills Road and thefire, the road tMcame congested atthat pmntand police closed it to through traffic for a short while. Coal mining reversed direction by adding jobs, providing a needed shot in the arm for Carbon Countys economy. Employment also expanded in the krai fabricated metals manufacturing sector. CouslWClion jobs in. the county climbed mtMfirtfq&ir- - ter as new commercial buildings and heavy construction projects, including road and bridges improvements, were undertaken. Following the Willow Creek mine tragedy in 2001, Carbon Countys economy went into a tailspin. However, Carbons economy rebounded in 2002, posting a broad recovery in goods and services based industries. The service producing industries- including trade, transpor- tation, information, recreation, lodging and food services, expanded during the first two quarters. Health care and social assistance positions expanded, while more than 100 jobs were added at local merchandise stores. Food service employment rose and wholesale trade reported healthy growth. On the downside were trucking and rail transportation, which decreased slightly. Local government also cut employment positions, primarily in education as enrollments declined and budgets tightened. Construction activity, as measured by permit authorizations in the county, increased dramatically. The total value of permit authorized construction jumped 62 percent through the first six months of 2002. Housing starts were up slightly, though residential valuations in the county fell 37 per- cent activity regis-""tersignificant expansion, jump Non-resident- ial ed ing from approximately $1 million in the first six months of 2001 to $3.4 million in 2002. The construction of a $1.5 million industrial building constitutes the primary reason Jot the sharp increase, explained the workforce services economic perspective. The valuation of renovation work surged in Carbon County, due mainly to a $1.6 million retail store remodeling project. Gross taxable sales improved 6.8 percent in the first half of 2002. Retail sales have been strong, particularly at merchandise stores and automobile. dealerships operating at various locations in the county. Construction, mining and manufacturing sales also rose, while services sales were down. Declines in repair services accounted for the decrease. As the nation slowly recovers from the effects of the recession, residents of Carbon County will continue to witness an upward trend in jobs throughout the remainder of the current year, projected the department of workforce services. The outlook, however, re- mains murky and depends on mining sustaining jobs in the local coal industry. Carbon Countys economy is steadily becoming more diverse. The diversity will help sustain the county during slow economic times, concluded the report drafted by workforce regionglecoooroisl.Austin. Sargent .vices Planning, zoning officials measure sound levels at gas wells in county By RICHARD SHAW Staff reporter OnlUesday, Carbon County planning director Dave Levanger stood in front ofthehorsehead going up and down as it pumped its valuable commodity into the pipeline that delivers it to customers. In his hand, the county plan- ning director held a meter that measures the decibels (dB) that the machine was emitting. Im certainly no scientist or expert, said Levanger. But I hepe, by doing this, we have more information on how these pumps are affecting the noise levels in the neighborhood. Levanger and deputy zoning administrator Gayla Williams were taking dB readings in various places near where another three wells were proposed by Phillips Petroleum tflast weeks planning and zoning board meetingi Several residents in the southwest part of die county claim that the pumps are causing a noise dur-mproblem, especially at night when months the summer . g PRWID they have their windows open. Sound is measured by science in dB. The higher the reading, the higher the sound leveL The noise level is measured from the threshold of hearing, which would be a 0 dB reading. The rustling of leaves without background sound would measure at 10. The average whisper meters out at 20 dB. Standing next to a busy street with a lot of traffic would give an intensity of 0 65-7- dB. "Rains, another familiar local sound, come in at 65 to 90 dB. The threshold of pain for the normal person is 130 dB and a number of modem devices such as jet engines at dose range can produce the level sound in question. Sound is much like the waves a rock produces when tossed in a large pool of water. Tbe waves emanate in all directions from the splash point and span out, getting weaker as they travel farther away from the im- pact point Sound, in the same manner, gets softer as it travels farther from its source. When measuring sounds to determine the affects on people, it is a good idea to test the noises at the source and at various distances from the site. On Tbesday, Levanger and away Williams first traveled to the neighborhood near 500 West 2400 South and took readings cm the sound levels in the area. At approximately 2:30 pm., die ambient or background noise levels were much higher than the sounds would be during the nigfiL The noise from Utah Highway 10, jet airliners flying overhead and other sounds created a level that evened out at about 35 dB. The sounds of wells pumping near the location were not detectable to the members of the party. The next stop was a well not far from Highway 10 on the gas field road running west from the junction of Ridge Road. Levanger took readings directly at the well head, a device that had a high pitched squeak when it reached the apex of its cycle. The dB reading at die well head motor was 70. (Continued on page 12A) Carton planning director Dave Levanger stands by a gas well in the southwest part of the county using a decibel meter to check the sound levels that the machine is putting out Concerns regarding the noise created by the machines are growing in county government and with residents as the wells are drilled closer and closer to homes in the area. panel concentrates on resolving Hill subdivision controversy By KEN LARSON Sun Advocate Publisher The subject of the Hill subdivision water system dominated the discussions that took place on Dec. 3 at the regular mee ting of the Price River Improvement District governing board. After three yeare of discussion and negotiation, it appears the board and developer Richard Lee have come to a pointwhere die issue is much dearer than it has been. While there have been a number of differences in developing the subdivisions water system, the discussions and decisions have now finally come down to the major issue ofwhere a final pumping station will be located on the system. The design for the final station that was submitted by Lee to PRWID was developed by Balaz and Associates, an engineering firm from Grand Junction, Cokx For the past few months, district manager Phil Palmer has been working with the engineer to get the wstem up to what PRWID felt was proper standards to supply the correct pressure of water to residents of the subdivision as well as any future )R COPY n residentswho might construct housing. Some of the key sticking points have been overall water pressure, the number of connections that would be attached to the system, and how the system would work based on various changes the water district wished to see done versus what the engineer had planned. Apparently, some miscommunication has also arisen periodically about various issues as the subdivision was developed. Presently, there are three occupied homes in the subdivision with one more presently being constructed. We (PRWID) have been dear all along about what we needed before we could finalize the permits, said Steve Denison, board chair. The day after the meeting, PRWID legal counsel Nick Sampinos drew up a letter to clarify what had been declared at the gathering the night before and it was sent to Lee for his review and action. , The letter voiced appreciation for the input offered by Lee and Carbon County Commissioner Mike Miknich, who attended the meeting in sup- port of the project Meetings involving the matter have included some hot discussions over time and, in many ways, the last TUesday night PRWID board session was no different. Some of that was becauseof expectations by the developers supporters that Palmer would have totally examined the design set forth by Balaz and completed a "model based on the elevation. In the end, cooler heads prevailed and PRWID board members told Lee the letter would be forthcoming and would spell out the specifics of the situation. PRWID wants to be sure that the water system which it may ultimately receive from you (Lee) is capable of adequately servicing the domestic irrigation and fire flow needs of the Hill subdivision, said Denison in the letter. PRWID is not desirous of accepting from you, or any other developer, any water system that will require an immediate upgrade or modification at PRWIDs expense. The letter goes on to state that die water district will not accept the design as completed and submitted to the board members on Oct 2 as put together by Balaz. The reasons for the included ce the following: The level of pressure from the main line that crosses the Price River cannot be increased, so die design which Balaz submitted will not work. PRWID indicates that the water improvement district cannot increase that pressure due to system integrity concerns. That means that the 30 psi incoming pressure from the PRWID tystem that Balaz used in the design is not a real number that can be achieved. The maximum that PRWID can provide at the intake point of the booster pump in question is 20 psi. The location of the booster pump on the system is also a problem. The elevation at which Balaz set the pump in the design is 200 feet from an important tee in the system, while PRWID is requesting that the station be no more than 15 feet from the tee. According to the letter, PRWID also wants to be sure any home built west of the tee will have proper water delivery. Apparently, a dispute has arisen between the parties at what altitude the highest home could be built in the area in question. I (Continued on page 12A) |