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Show 78th Year No. 46 No ruling on 18 Roosevelt, Utah Wednesday, November 13, Pages 30 Cents touchy topic Mixed blood jurisdiction is main issue of Gardner case Other family members hnve been in court on misdemeanor charges as well. Last week,' his brother Edson was charged with contempt of court after an outburst in circuit court, and sentenced to Roosevelt City Council members recently approved additional funds for City Attorney Craig Bunnell to continue his efforts to take a case involving a local male through the mixed-bloo- d "Im an alien want our birthright. in my own country...We Edson Gardner state courts, and possibly all the way to the Supreme Court The case, involving a misdemeanor charge against Roger Gardner, Roosevelt, has potential consequences for the area; no matter which way judges rule, the case bears repercussions for both Indian and residents of the reservanon-Indi- tion. Roger Gardner has been charged with several DUIs (driving under the influence of alcohol), driving on suspension of license, interfering with a police officer, and other misdemeanor offenses. A specific misdemeanor case is under appeal presently in the state appellate court. lie has an additional felony charge of armed assault in Uintah County; a ruling on that charge is pending. 30 days of incarceration in the county jail. Edsons sentence wns suspended by Judge Payne. Roger is out on bail. The primary issue of concern in the Gardner cases is pointed out both city officials and Edson Gardner, who has spent considerable time researching court documents on the subject of mixed bloods and jurisdiction: No one seems to know for sure whether or not Roger Gardner should be tried as an Indian. His case is expected to go as far as the Federal Supreme Court, and could cycle back, before a judge hands down a ruling on whether or not he has legal rights as an Indian, based on his percentage of Indian blood. Roosevelt City law enforcement and legal officials say Gardner is not considered an Indian by fay any tribe, by his friends, or apparently even by himself. But his Utes with family, mixed-blooUintah band blood lines, consider him an Indian and feel his rights as an Indian have been denied. They further claim that Gardner is recognized as an Indian by other Uintah band members. Prosecutors claim that personal opinions are irrelevant if the tribe itself does not recognize the family as Ute. Eldest brother in the family, Edson has taken on his brothers legal entanglements as a personal crusade for himself and his family. Tm an alien in my own country, Edson declares. Its hard to get a job, weve been labeled as s by both sides all our lives. All I want is for me and my family to be able to get what we have coming to us; we want our birthright." He refers to federal dividends, hunting rights, services, and other privileges enjoyed by enrolled tribal members. Enrollment is a key issue for Gardner. His parents were among d $ Utah State University Education Center has been experiencing CLASSROOMS ARE FULL-T- hc considerable growth recently. With this growth comes the problem of finding enough classrooms and instructors for all of the students wishing to attend. Tialf-breed- terminated 490 mixed-blood- s from tribal rolls in 1954, in a 12-tri- be Partition and Termination Continued on page 3 Center experiences mixed blessing of remarkable growth USU Rtcpnt growth at the USU Education Center in Roosevelt was the topic at the recent Duchesne County Area Chamber of Commerce luncheon. Dennis Gamer and John Barton, "Basin West 2000" Strategic plan created by chamber committee The Duchesne County Area Chamber of Commerce has announced the creation of a strategic planning and implementation project called Basin West 2000. Basin West 2000, which will function under the Chamber's Economic Development Board, refers to the concept of using the collective resources from within western Uintah County and all of Duchesne County. Bob West, chairman of the Chambers Economic Development Committee, stated that following months of planning, the Chamber felt the need to begin a project which would direct the efforts of Western Uintah County and Duchesne County towards both short and long range projects designed to enhance and strengthen the economic base in these areas. Scott Bigler, Executive Director for the Duchesne County Area Chamber of Commerce commented that the Basin West 2000 project began to take shape in recent meetings with the Economic Development Committee and wj officially adopted by the Chamber Board of Directors on November 2. The prqject took a big step forward, Bigler indicated, as Moon Lake Electric joined the Basin West 2000 effort; through their membership in the National Rural Electric Cooperatives Association, which is based in Washington D.C, economic development specialists are available to assist with the Basin West 2000 project. Bob Bergland, Executive Director of NRECA commented that in virtually every part of the country rural electric leaders are involved in the social and economic life of their communities, identifying needs and leading the way towards solutions. Moon Lake General Manager, Grant J. Earl, voiced this same feeling to the Chambers Economic Development Board, expressing the cooperatives willingness to assist and begin facilitating the chamber's economic development planning. Moon Lake Electric has arranged for NRECAs leading economic development specialist, Dan Camerman, to visit the Uintah Basin on November 25 and 26th. Mr. Camermans first trip to the Basin will be to meet with officials of Moon Lake and the Chamber's Economic Development committee STILL SIGNING continue to register for classes at the Utah State University Education Center. Chris Rose is shown helping a potential student fill out some paperwork. UP-Stud- ents to assess the prqject and to get an idea of the Basins resources. Commenting on the prqject, West stated, "We need to have an assessment of the area and compare it with other similar communities to realize what our needs and wants are. We hope to have a meeting in February to select a committee made up of a whole spectrum of people." "Weve come through five years of hard times," West stated in conclusion. "This has made people realize it can still be a great place to live if we work hard to support the community." associate professors at the local college campus, gave information on recent growth and new classes offered at the extension. Programs which have been added to the curriculum include new two- - and four-yea- r agricultural degrees, a four year computer-aide- d drafting class, and a computer science degree. In addition, the business information classes will be expanded. Also added to the list will be new masters programs in Vocational Rehabilitation and Psychology, with a school certificate available. They will also be adding a two year limited radiology program in which only five or six students will be able to participate at one time. In this program the students will finish with a license from the State Board. The remainder of the meeting was devoted to discussing the recent growth which USU Education Center has experienced. Garner presented figures which showed the growth of 497 students in 1984 to 771 students in 1990 and some 933 students for 1991. For the full time equivalent-stude- nts who carry enough credits to be considered a full time numbers have risen from 1984 at 257 to 1991 at 487 stu- - he Moon Lake changes rate for high electrical usage Moon Lake Electric General Manager, Grant J. Earl, has announced two new programs which will provide residential customers, options to more fully utilize their electrical space and water heating systems. Earl commented that the cooperative has known for some time that many homes in the area have electric heat but havj not been fully utilizing their heating systems. After months of discussion and planning between Moon Lake and Desert Generation and Transmission, the cooperative is now in a position to more competitively price electricity. In June of this year Moon Lake reduced its rates to all of its consumers. At that time Moon Lake created for residential customers ablock rate. This made available a second lower rate, reducing energy expenses consumed above 700 hours (Kwh). Earl stated that effective immediately Moon Lake residential customers will see an additional third block of energy at an even lower rate. The new rate schedule states that the first 700 Kwhs will be priced at 6.15 cents, the next 800 Kwhs at 5.6 cents, and the good news, particularly for all electric customers is a third level priced at 3.7 cents for all Kwhs above 1500 Kwhs consumed. Secondly, Moon Lake will soon have in place a Water Heater and Ground Source Heat Pump Rebate Program. The Moon Lake Board of Directors have approved the rebate programs and the cooperative recently submitted to the Utah Public Service Commission for their approval of these programs. When approved, the cooperative will provide $150 towards the purchase of an electric water heater regardless of whether the unit is a replacement of an existing unit or being purchased for a new installation. Rebates will Continued on page 3 dents. If growth continues at an 8 or more rate for the next five years USU expects to have some 1,400 in 1996. With all of this new growth, a positive circumstance, the education center is experiencing two mqjor problems. The first problem is supplying enough instructors and facilities to accommodate these new students. Officials plan to approach the state impact board with the idea of possibly constructing an additional new building for the college. The second problem USU extension has experienced is attempting to keep up with todays business market. They need to be able to better prepore their students to have international market savvy. Garner stated, "Well have to be as good as everybody else or they (the students of USU) wont get the jobs." Despite the growth in numbers there are still many high school graduates who are net pursuing the chance to fiirther their education. Bob West stated, "A problem is that kids look forward to High School graduation. We need to teach them that this is only a step toward their future." Barton went on to state, "The single largest problem is trying to sell someone on the idea that they need more education. We cannot keep pace in todays world if we dont teach them that they need more education." Others at the meeting went on to Btate,"We haven't put enough value on education with our kids." USU Campus in Logan has experienced similar growth increases. With 116 Duchesne County students currently registered, thats more students from Duchesne County than ever before. USU president Stanford Cazier recently announced that total enrollment at the Logan campus is 16,291 students, a 2,468 student increase since fall of 1989. "Thats about the equivalent of the total enrollment of some of the states two-yecommunity colleges," he stated. In addition to students from nearly 100 nations, in addition to most of the United States, Cazier says USU continues to draw heavily from the rural areas of Utah, as it has traditionally done. ar Kilo-wa- tt 1At - P J J. Earl, Bob West and Scott Bigler arc discussing a new strategic planning and implementation project called Basin West 2000, which will function under the Duchesne County Area Chamber of Commerce's Economic Development. STRATEGIC PLANNING-Gra- nt V-'-i- -s Vet; ' " 4-- GREAT WALL OF OURAY-Mil- es of cement pipe west of Pelican Lake waiting to be laid for the new pipeline to the fanners and refuge south of the lake. |