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Show T i (LUSmUalhi - IBasan IBtiamdaird Thursday. May 20. T982 Uintah Basin Standard 13 Duchesnes Fire dept, gets start in 1932 Editor's Note: Since the article in the STANDARD about Duchesne's new fire engine, we have received information about the first fire department in Duchesne - the vehicles used, and the extent of the service that was available. It was even mentioned that the department was better looking back then. This source asked for secrecy. This story was taken from information compiled by Cfiff Mickelson, Duchesne. the In the winter of 1931-3- 2 Duchesne Fire Department was officially organized. Dr. W.D. Bishop was appointed Fire Chief by tin City Council on March 2, 1932. The fire station previous to this time was a small frame building which housed the wheel cart with the fire hoee. This structure was located on the north side of the present county court house, about where the flag pole now stands. Seven men were on hand to join the new department W.D. Bishop was a dentist Ralph Halstead was the local picture show operator, Floyd Baker was a service station operator, Ernie Evans was a painter, Charles- Selch a creamery . operator. Dean Powell a mail carrier, and Cfiff Mickelson the school district clerk. According to Cliff Mickelson, the uniforms consisted of a pair of rubber boota, a rubber slicker and a leather hat with the badge reading Fire Dept No. 1. Of interest to the protected the firemen sponsored public", several dances to help purchase the uniforms. During two of these dances two home burnt down in Duchesne. When you heard the bell on the school budding or the bell on the Presbyterian Mission Building ringing, the firemen and town dogs were on the job," said Michelson. Four men pulled and two men pushed the wheel cart. The fire chief ran ahead trying to find hydrants and the fire. The City secured a White truck from the government and this was the first motorized fire equipment Duchesne had. After this, in 1932, the department secured a 1930 Oldsmobile car and converted it to a fire engine. A centrifical pump was purchased and fastened on the front bumper and to the engine where the crank went in to start the car. The converted fire engine carried a five gallon can of water to prime the pump. Always, we went to the fire first, then to a ditch or fire hydrant, said Mickelson. The city's water lines sometimes presented a problem. It was apparent that the citys water lines did not carry but 10 or 20 pounds of pressure so that the pump mounted on the engine ended up pumping the water out of the lines to the fire. The salary of the firemen consisted of a pair of pants, and if they tore them, they were replaced only upon approval of the City Council. No insurance. On June 26, 1933, Duchesne City paid the dues fin the five firemen to the Utah State Firemens Association. Along with the dues, for each member in good standing who died or was killed, insurance of $150 and a tombstone was paid. He had to attend all meetings and go to 70 percent of the fires in order to get the dues paid. Secondary wafer costs explained The question of water is constantly a concern for Roosevelt and several weeks ago, during a City Council meeting, the issue of a secondary water system was forwarded. The proposition was presented as a possible alternative to having to develop additional sources of culinary water. As explained in the meeting, if a secondary source could be developed to supply the large water users such as this cemetery, Plateau, and several of the churches in town, that would leave more culin ary water for residential use without having the expense of developing culinary water sources. It was felt that such a secondary system would be much less expensive than culinary system providing equal amounts of water. For this reason, at the request of the City Council, Rex Harrison of Horrocks Engineers, looked at several possible secondary water systems and presented his findings to the Council Monday evening. Hurison presented three proposals to the Council. The first of these was the ' McGuire Draw Reservoir. According to Harrison, this project would provide about 88 pounds of pressure at the golf course and over 100 pounds at Plateau, a user with present needs of about 300 gallons per minute. Harrison explained that while this proposal would definitely provide the best pressure, the cost of the project would be the most prohibitive. There was a greater amount of 24 water line required and the construction cost of the reservoir was much greater. Harrison estimated the cost of this project to be approximately $3.8 million. The second alternative, while not providing the same pressure, was much less, expensive. The Page Ditch North Reservoir proposal required less 24 pipe and the estimates indicate that the storage reservoir could be constructhe cost of ted for about one-four- th the McGuire Draw. The total cost of this project was estimated at $1.7 million. Harrison pointed out the pressure on this project would be about 67 pounds at the golf course and about 80 pounds at Plateau. The third alternative, the Page Ditch South Resejvoir, was slightly less in cost, but the pressure provided was less. significant The Council felt the only possible plan to explore was the Page Ditch North Reservoir. Harrison said the structure would have a storage He capacity of about 500 acre-fee- l. said presently the City uses about 1,400 acre-feper year and projections are estimated at 3,800 acre-feby the year 2000, this not including any future expansion of the golf course. Getting away from pumping is the first priority, said Rex Harricould be He said this son. accomplished with this proposal. He pointed out the only water that would need to be pumped would be at the golf course, and he said that e could be done with an pump et et for less cost than what the City now pays at the golf course. Concern of Roosevelt having enough water to fill such a facility was also expressed. Gordon Harmston, J r. pointed out that presently the City has 468 shares of K-- water. Harrison said the average amount for each share over the past few year s has been 2.4 which he said would be plenty. Harrison pointed out that to obtain the needed amounts of water, . a saving could be recognized with the secondary system. He pointed out that to acquire " equal amounts of treated and untreated water, he costs would greatly differ. For treated water it would cost an estimated $3,085 per However, for the secondary system, the water would cost Roosevelt City as estimated $1,019 The Council asked Harrison to provide more information about the project. This is one of the possible uses Roosevelt is looking at for some of the energy impact monies that have been made available. 2 acre-fee- t, acre-foo- t. "in-lin- Ute annual meeting date changed Have you ever attended an annual meeting in the middle of the year for which it is being reported? This has been the case with the Ute Tribe as they have been having their annual meeting on the last Monday in May, when their fiscal year ends September 30. The Tribe held an election May 17 to change this date on their Constitution. Issues that change the Constitution are handled by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (B1A),. and this election and the approval of the results was handled by the BIA for the Ute Tribe. THE EVOLUTION OF A FIRE the top picture shows, the first of fire fighting equipment in piece Duchesne was a hand drawn hose carrier. Then it was connected to an older "white" truck and this was the cities first motorized piece of firefighting equipment. Later in MENT As The voting resulted in the passage of the date (mange, with 113 in favor and 24 against. Another problem with the date as it was set, was that it always fell on Memorial Day weekend and it was sometimes hard to get the 75 members in attendance needed to make up a working quorum. The annual meeting for 1982 will be in the Tribal Office Building in Fort Duchesne on the first Wednesday in November. This will be November 3, and this meeting is open to the public. LPNs to graduate Friday LPN'$ have graduated from the Vocational Center and will hold their graduation exercises May 21 at 8 p.m. Those graduating are Arlene Bradshaw, Alice Daniels, I va Hendricks, Linda Kenney, Joanna Keyser, Lisa Pen- - new field, Sandra Remund, Dorothy Slough, Maria Taylor, and Lori Zobell. Instructors for the course are Jean Smith, Beth Sweat-fielLila Manangan, Evelyn Berbst, and d, Diann Casper. 932 a 1930 Oldsmobile was bought and a certified pump was mounted on the front and Duchesne has its first hose carrier and 1 "pumper". Pictured are W.D. Bishop, Ralph Halstead, Gloyd Baker, Ernie Evans, Charles Selch, Dean Powell and Cliff Mickelson. Estimates given for City Library plans What does Roosevelt need in the way of a library, and what is the beat avenue for obtaining such an improved facility? These Questions have been partially addressed by the Utah Library Board in their initial survey of the GRADUATES-T- en DEPART- Graduation exercises for the seventh class of practical nurses (LPNs) from the Uintah Basin Area Vocational Center w ill be held Friday, May 21 at 8 p.m. in the UBAVC Mall. The public is invited. The graduating students are Arlene Bradshaw, Alice Daniels, Iva Hendricks, Linda Kenney, Joann Keyser, Lisa Penfield, Sandra Remund, Dorothy S laugh, Marie Taylor and Lori ZobelL Students have invited Dr. Denis Winder, Vernal, to be their guest speaker. Others participating on the program include Marilyn Peterson, Dr. Phillip Condie, Keith Bergquist, Elouise Turner, Ralph Slaugh and the graduates. existing structure, and plans are being carried further. It was the suggestion of the Stale Library Board that Roosevelt City have their library building looked at to determine whether or not an addition will be feasible. Representatives of ARIX Architectural Firm visited the library Monday afternoon and presented their findings and preliminary cost estimates to the Roosevelt City Council Monday evening. Eugene R. Brauer, Engineer, and John Quest, Architect, inspected the building and informed the City Council that the building is structurally sound. It is feasible to retain the existing building and remodel it, said Quest, to a point. Quest explained that there are not significant cracks in the existing structure, but that the electrical system will most likely need some work. The boiler system, according to Quest, is very old, but appears to be in good working shape. Another area of concern addressed was that of handicap access. Both men said final decision as to whe ther or not to keep the building will depend on a great many things. The decision as to whether the building stays or is torn down will depend on the scope of the project," said Quest He explained that from their afternoon spent at the library talking to employees , along with information they received from the Library Board, they felt the existing facility could be used. Quest and BTauer also presented the council with some rough estimates" of population, library size needed, and the cost of such improvements. Mr. Quest explained that presently the population of Roosevelt is approximately 3,800 w ith a projection in i990 of 9,300. However, Quest said they have been informed that about 60 percent of the usage comes from individuals living outside of Roosevelt. The library now has about 6,400 people using the facility with that expected to increase to 15,000 in 1990. He said there is presently a need for about 17,500 books, that to increase to an estimated 30,000 by 1990. Along with the increases in the amount of books to be needed, Quest painted out that space requirements will also increase. The architect pointed out that presently, based on the number of books needed now, the library needs approximately 3,500 square feet of storage capacity, about 1,500 more than they now have. He estimated that by 1990 the library will need about 7,000 square feet to accomodate the books needed. With these figures available it would mean an addition of 1,531 Continued on page 19 - |