OCR Text |
Show a I The o 68th Year Thursday January 22, 1981 No. 4 Roosevelt, Utah 22 Pages 20 Cents ART BROTHERS THE KEY Beehive v. Uintah Basin David v. Golaith story? F Beehive Telephone and Art Brothers are synonomous. Brothers himself will not deny it and the many who oppose Brothers attempted take-ove- r of Uintah Basin Telephone gladly recognize the fact The question to be addressed in this and forthcoming articles about Brothers, Beehive, Uintah Basin Telephone, and their forced mutual considerations is: should Beehive be allowed to purchase, take over, or otherwise assume control of Uintah Basin Telephone? The answer will finally be decided January 29 at 7:30 p.m. in the Roosevelt junior high auditorium. This week's article, along with several to be printed next week, will hopefully inform the members of the Uintah Basin Telephone Association concerning this matter. In late November of last year, Brothers sent out a packet of information to all members of Uintah Basin Telephone, a co-o-p phone company which serves rural customers in Duchesne County and portions of Uintah County. His cover letter pointed out that the members had seen their telephone bill double the previous month and exhaled them to "dissolve the cooperative and let us take over instead. Also included in the packet was a map detailing Beehive's service area d and a front sheet present- page-style- County looking for public health nurses Health care in Duchesne County another setback. According to Public Health Officer Ernie Haupt, the county will soon be without any Public Health Nurses. The resignation of both nurse a, one each in Roosevelt and Duchesne, will leave a gap which could be difficult to filL Money, or rather the lack of it, is one of the major reasons for the losses. Although there are many variables in any comparison between a public health nurse and a hospital-employe- d nurse, the former makes considerably less money for what amounts to mure responsibility. Our nurses have a greater responsibility than do those working in an institutional setting, said Haupt. They are on their own and must make the most of their own decisions." Some of the responsibilities include school nursing, some visits, and immunization dinica. Haupt indicated that the Public is suffering Health Nurse is usually more involved in instructional settings than in hands-o- n capacities. Some of those settings include hypertension screening, nutritional education, and the d (WIC) program. In all of the above programs and duties the public health nurse is qualified to refer problems to a physician. The nurse's reference help to provide early diagnosis. The base salary for the position is $932. If the person is an RN, the base pay is $1,023. Haupt indicated that the salary will be going up. He also said that wages are negotiable, depending on experience and qualifications. The basic requirement for the job is some type of nursing degree. At least an BN is preferred. A college degree if also preferred. Woman-Infant-Chil- Fra' more information, contact Ernie Haupt or Sheila Peters in Roosevelt at 722-508- Water Improvement District meets Jan. 14 Wednesday night, Jan. 14, about members of the Ballard Water Improvement District met at the Ballard Town Municipal Building to discuss the construction of new water lines in the Ballard area and ascertain a payment schedule for the increased costs of water being purchased from the Ute Tribal line. Raymond Murray, manager of the Ute Tribal Water System, outlined the additional costs imposed upon their system because of inflation during the last few years and explained the new construction which, it is anticipated, will be completed to place additional water into the area. He said that it was their intention to be able to fulfill the culinary water needs of the Town of Ballard in the years ahead. SO Karl Shisler, president of the Ballard Water Improvement District, outlined the construction costs of line on the north Installing an aide of Hwy. 40 from the Ballard church to Big 0, then north on the east side of the old airport road one mile, then proceeding east to the Snow subdivision. The new water line construction will be financed by selling in the area, additional water hook-up- s community impact funds, and reserve funds of the Ballard Water Improvement District. Various methods of financing and increased costs of wholesale water rates were discussed. The final decision was left to the Board of Trustees of the Ballard Water Improvement District. ing a financial statement of the company; several cartoons: a biography of Brothers, detailing his beginnings in 'the Uintah Basin; several reprinted articles showing Brothers' telephone expertise; and some quotes arranged in a starburst fashion around a cartoon of an explosion. There were news articles in major Utah dailies which suggested that should the attempted take-ove- r prove successful, then Beehive would become the third largest phone company operating in the State of Utah. Beehive currently serves less than 300 customers. Beehive employs only Brothers and another employee. Beehive operates most of its rural Northwestern Utah serviie area with equipment. Brothers readily admits that his firm is small and does not offer many of the services which other, much larger companies can provide. Brothers also readily admits that were it not for his company, most of his service area would not be served. This fart is what allows the Utah Public Service Commission to put up with many of Brothers' eccentricities. Brothers once had his pilots license suspended for landing on a public road and in the same instance seriously injuring the occupant of a truck. Brothers has been unable to get a license from the FCC to provide rural radio service to his customers in the Grouse Creek area of western Box Elder County. Brothers has had with regulatory frequent run-in- s other agencies, other bureaucrats, telephone companies, and with more than a few of his customers. Brothers is proud of his ability to and big fight the bureaucracy business. He claims that his arguments with his customers center-arounproblems with Bell. Brothers has been the subject of a lengthy front page article in the Wall Street Journal which characterized him as an old Westerner." Of that which Brothers is prideful about, his detractors consider damning. They say that he is tactless, crude , and vulgar. They say that his inability to get along with Bell and t he regulatory agencies proves his inability to manage a firm ten times larger than his present company. They insist and that he is arrogant, hard to get in touch with in times of emergency. They say that the Journal article paints a picture of a decidedly dastardly character bent on destroying anything and everything through ineptness and corruption. The story is one of considerable contrasts but there is one point upon which nearly everyone, but most of those at UB Tel, agree. Art Brothers is a mechanical genius whose knowledge of telephony borders on what one member of the Utah Public Service Commission called legend- ary." Brothers descended upon UB Tel during one of the darkest periods of its long existence. The firm last year hired a consultant company whose findings did not paint a rosy picture of the financial status of the Association. Continued on page 3 v ?v ch explained his proposed complex to be located on Roosevelt property located on the east side of the city cemetery on West Highway 40. Hatch City-zon- ed made this presentation using artists renderand architect's are ings plats. Pictured Mayor Ralph Shields, Recorder Joanne Winn, City Administrator Glen Vernon, Hatch, and Garth Sorenson, City Councilman. (L-- R) s 'ik 'i IksR OIL RIG IN BALLARD--I- s owned by increase around the newer wells x. Drilling activity is on the the Basin with several of proving to be very successful. According to Canadian border guards there are naan numerous rigs waiting on the Canadian side to clear customs. At least six of them are earmarked for the Basin. Oil shale remains the future hope. The yellow crude continues as the mainstay of the present. LOCAL BUSINESSMEN ON HAND City gives go ahead for shopping center offer The Roosevelt City Council is not accustomed to making decisions before a crowd at their regular Monday evening meetings. Last Monday, the council decided to go ahead with a proposed shopping center developland. After the ment on decision, the council listened to a group of important local businessmen voice their feelings about the action. All of this drama was played before a standing-room-onlcrowd, composed mostly of local Boy Scouts out to earn local merit badges by studying government. The Scouts got their money's worth when the businessmen, largely representing the downtown portion of the Roosevelt business district, confronted the council with what unofficial spokesman Don Truman, Modern Drug, called, our concern on the shopping center's effect upon downtown business The controversy began last year when Roosevelt received a bid on the property known as the old rodeo grounds adjacent to the cemetery on West Highway 40. Concern was expressed at that time that the city was not informed of who the buyer! s) was. The City council's major problem with the property sale was that it not be sold to be used for speculation. Once it became apparent that the city was unwilling to work with a local agent rather than the actual developer, Jim Hatch, Bountiful, he came before the city council to personally present his proposal. He first met with the city council Jan. 5. At that time he presented artists' renderings and architects plats of land and space use for a y Jim-Hot- V.S 1 Nv'F city-owne- d SHOPPING CENTER DEVELOPER 4 100.000 square foot shopping center. It would most likely become the largest shopping center in Eastern Utah. At the time of the original proposal, the owners of Stewart's Thriftway, Percy and Mark Stewart, indicated their willingness to be a part of the development either as the major tenant or as the actual developer. Thoughout the discussion period both the city and the two potential developers made it clear that the should and would be property developed as expediciously as possible. Hatch indicated that it would be in the interests of his program to expedite the final decision which would authorize him to begin serious solicitation of both the major tenant and the other commercial firms which would make up the shopping center. At last week's meeting the city council suggested that they had received some local pressure on the matter of a new shopping center The local pressure development. manifested itself in the form of a group of businessmen who aired their feelings on what a local shopping center would do to their business. The businessmen met with the council on an impromptu basis after the council had unanimously decided to give Hatch 90 days in which to solicit tenants and present a more firm proposal to the city. The Stewart brothers had contacted the city prior to the meeting to indicate that they were pulling out of consideration as the developer of the property. Thus, after explaining the problems of utility extension to the property, after further assurances that the financing method, industrial revenue bonds, would not obligate the city should the developer fail to fulfill his responsibilities, and after hearing further explanation concerning the high density residential usage proposed as a buffer zone for the shopping center, the council gave Hatch the go ahead. In answer to Don Truman's concern or the negative effect on downtown Roosevelt business. Mayor Ralph Shields responded, We hope that this development will help all Roosevelt businesses." The Mayor continued, This population increase is coming and we want to keep as much of the commercial development in town as possible. Lyn Miller, T.R. Merc, pointed out that his and other businesses deal in a small profit margin as it is. Don Truman added to that sentiment, Can you afford to spread us any thinner than we are now? Shields reiterated that the population will come according to nearly all of the research and source material available to the city. We don't want them (commercial developers) to locate outside the city." The businessmen lacked the same enthusiasm as to the imminence of the population explosion. Miller voiced a major concern of small business in a rapidly growing community, We can't afford to lose money for years like they I big business) can. Councilman Garth Sorenson again summed up the council's feelings on the matter when he said, I don't think it will hurt that much if the population comes." City Administrator Glen Vernon Continued on page 3 SMMMlMlMM KH4H1 L |