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Show There are maaymonpmopl CNRT: UTAH CR 3U7W. SAU 1 9 EXP: 0 ASSOCIATION PRESS p 200$. CITY, LIT Serving the residents of Duchesne and Western Uintah Counties MlT 84101 12-1- Tribe meets today to discuss acceptance of water plans page2 intah Basin Tabiona dexectis Aiiumum, Union downs Uintah im page trying to moot fee right ponoa than to bmcoma fee right ponoa. Gloria Stoiama 3 Falconry Festival expected to attract hundreds Tuesday, February 4. 1997 Roosevslt, Utah 94th Year No. 5 18 Pages 509 seepage 9 TODAY IS THE DAY TO VOTE! Citizens ask for involvement in school district building process Bv Cheryl Mecham - Duchesne County residents met wife school district officials and members ofa citizens committee last week to hear information of proposed building plans and discuss the rami- fications of purchasing general obligation bonds pursuant to todays bond election. ; The meetings, held Jan. 28 at Duchesne High School and East Elementary, clarified proposed building projects including construction of 15 new classrooms at East Elementary, a new gymnaaium at Altamont High, and a technology lab at Duchesne High, as well as other minor improvements at various school. Public turnout was poor at fee Duchesne meeting according to Debbie Thayne, eitizena committee member. Board members Doug Swasey, Steve Lott, and Newell .Richens were in attendance along wife district dark, Phil Thompson and I Burgess of First Security Bank. J Thayne said that of the dozen citizens attending fee Duchesne meeting, the majority seemed to favor the proposal to brad to finance $5 milium in pUnirnd school construction and improvements at fee dose of the meeting. Those against FATAL ACCIDENT--An accident at 3:45 Sunday aftemooa cm Highway 40 near the Ouray turnoff claimed the life of 1 old John Urbanik, Jr. of Colo. According to UHP Rangley, reports, a 1993 Pontiac driven by Jay Aguiniga, 30, of Roosevelt, was traveling eastbound on Highway 40 when a westbound 1985 Nissan Pulsar driven by John Urbanik, 40, of Rangley crossed over and hit Aguiniga s vehicle head-oold son, Anthony, Aguinigas d was taken by to Primary Children's Hospital where he is listed in serious condition. Urbanik remains hospitalized at UBMC. Jay Aguiniga suffered minor injuries. All of those involved in the crash were apparently wearing seatbelts. The cause of the accident is still under investigation. n. VA Air-Me- IN Last year the Utah Legislature passed HB 875 which created the Division of Workforce Services. In Juy that division will be up and running in communities throughout the state. So just what will this new government creation mean to you? Well, thoee who are heading the reorganisation of various state agencies say it will streamline services, cut du- plicity, simplify, and ultimately save taxpayers time and money. Bob Gross, executive director of the newly created Department of Workforce Services, aays his job is to bring together job service, the office of Family Support Services, State Office of Child Care, Job Training Partnership Act, and possibly the Turning Point Program and State Industrial Commission to a central location. In Roosevelt that location will be the Social Services building just behind Alco. Duchesne and Uintah Counties are included in the East Region of Workforce Services, one of 9th Annual U.B. Water Conference underway y today in Vernal. The 9th Annual Uintah Basin Water Conference is being held at the Western Park Convention Center. Over 150 people are expected to participate in this years water conference which will be keynoted by Ted Stewart, director of the State Department of Natural Resources. Stewart will address the subject Utahs Water in the Colorado River, 1922 to 2022. This years conference will address some of the challenges and concerns feeing residents of the Uintah Basin auch as: Water quality management, CUP update, irrigation scheduling, affects of SDWA reauthorize tion, water related land use programs for the state, canal lining, adjudication of Basin water, problems of delivery water and funding water prqecta. Conference participants will have a variety ofworkshops to choose from today and Wednesday. The workshops are held at 2:40 to 3:40 p.m. and from 4 to 5 p.m. today, and from 9 to 10 a.m. tomorrow. Workshop topics include: CUP - What's on Schedule for 1997, SDWA Reauthorization and How It Affects Your Water, Finding Money for Water Bv Chervl Mecham Today Duchesne County voters will be asked to cast their ballot for or against two general obligation bonds - one for $5 million to fund new construction, remodeling and repairs at district schools, and the other tor $2 million to refinance an existing debt. A tax increase of about $10 a year on a home valued at $75,000 is attached to the passage of the $5 million bond. Because this is a special election for Duchesne County School District voting precincts have been combined. Regular voting precincts 1 Altamont and 8 Mountain Home which indudes the upper country of 8EE WHERE TO VOTE on page 3 SEE BOND ELECTION on page 3 0FHCIAL SAYS CONCERN DUET0 MISUNDERSTANDING Bv Chervl Mecham WATER CHALLENGES & CONCERNS Atwo-dawater conference which attracts state water officials, local, state and federal leaders, and many other water experts, got underway Precincts consolidated for bond election under UBMCVA contract Consolidated Workforce Services will centralize services, save $$$ If youre looking for a job, looking for someone who is looking for a job, or if you're on public assistance and in between looking for ajob then this July you'll appreciate a new look which will make lift a little easier. WHERE TO VOTE bond votes. Others expressed their feelings that a practice gym was needed more than a lab. Approximately 40 citizens, indud-in- g a large number of East Elementary teachers attended the Roosevelt meeting wife officials who included: Carol Parriah, principal of East Elementary and member of citizens committee; district superintendent John Aland; John Taft, of EDA Architects; and school board members Lynn Snow and John Hullinger. During the meeting members of the public asked, How were the proposed building projects determined? Board member Lynn Snow answered that information from need lists compiled by school administrators and fee determinations of the districts building committee gave the board the necessary information to decide the three selected projects. Many educators in attendance expressed the opinion that if the bond were to go through they would like input regarding classroom construction needs. Several of those who addressed school officials wanted to know ifthe Basin veterans remain covered PLACE BY JULY Bv Lezlee E. Whiting commented that a technology lab was not needed in Duchesne and that it was thrown in to promote Sewer Pnjecta, Oaks Park Problems and Fixes, State Water Related Land Use Program, Service Available to Water Districts in 1997, Solar Powered Auto Gates and Irrigation Scheduling, PToaCons and Economics of Lining Canals, and Ashley Brush Creeks Optimisation Study and Stewart Lake Program. This evening at 7:30 p.m. State Water Engineer Bab Morgan will discuss the adjudication of water in the Basin. Following Wednewlays workshop there will be a dosing general session at 10:20 a.m. during which a panel of canal company officers will discuss the practical problems of delivering water. The conference will adjourn at noon Wednesday. The conference is sponsored each year by the Vernal Area Chamber of Commerce. It has the full cooperation and support of the Division of Water Resources, various other federal and state agencies, the Ute Indian Tribe, the communities of the Uintah Basin, water companies and districts. In conjunction with the Water ConferenceaWater Fair conducted by Virginia Jensen ofthe Division of Water Resources, is bung held at Discovery Elementary and will over 400 5th grade students. to administer the program. Other counties in our region are Carbon, Daggett, Emery, Grand, and San Juan. The eastern regional director is Judy Chambley, the former director of the Vernal J Service Office. The impending change in the location of state services, and to a certain extent how thoee services are offered, will "be Beamless from an employers perspective, aays Gross, but those seeking jobs, public assistance and job training will see a lot of differences: Applicants will now find training-related services, resources, child care help, and temporary assistance to help them while they prepare for the labor market, Gross explained. The centralized approach will unified case management tracking clients throughout the job seeking, assistance and training process so they drat get lost, said Curtis Johnson, who is spearheading the project wife Gross. People who were referred to different resources in different locations are getting different case managers, said Johnson. We feel cutting down m the places and the number of case managers people have to deal wife will save the state money and reduce the likelihood that people will fell through the cracks. How will creating a new governmental department which has an estimated 1998 fiscal year budget of $225 million, save the taxpayers money? Gross says mainly through attrition. State employees wont be laid off as services are centralized, but many wont be replaced as they quit or retire. Were projecting 48 fewer caseworkers in the Office of Family Services. Well ask iffeis position should be filled or can some jobs be consolidated? The state has received a $1.5 million grant from fee UR. Department of Labor to help set up the hne stops, said Gross. Our short term goal is to look at it as expense neutral. My biggest goal is to deliver services to a portion ofour taxpayers better than they have ever been delivered before and to make sure all the biggest bang for five regions created A pilot program initiated by the Veterana Administration (VA) to sty veterans through the Uintah Basin Medical Center (UBMC) appears to be going forward despite earlier VA claims that it would be discontinued. The program, launched in Duchesne County last January 16, is part of a national effort by the VA to reduce fee costs of providing medical care to veterans, according to public relations spokesman Ted Baxter. Duchesne County veterans enrolled in the special program recently received letters from fee VA advising that in the event they needed medical care they should travel to fee VA Hospital in Salt Lake City or physician care in the Uintah Basin. We told them not to rely on us, we dropped the ball, it was a fumble Of wmunnnii-sHiiwith a gTOUp of Duchesne County patients, Baxter explained. Baxter says the misunderstanding occurred while VA administrators were waiting for final approval from fee Denver office at a time when it appeared feat veterana living in rural areas would no longer have access to local health care services funded by the VA. We're part of a network of VA hospitals, we cover a large area ... preliminary readings didn't look good," he admitted. n In all actuality the program had sicians to provide basic primary-car- e never lapsed, but had been extended to enrolled Duchesne County veterby the UBMC, while additional lob- ans under VA benefits. Primary-car- e bying efforts were made to increase does not include specialist care or funding, Baxter disclosed. hospital stays, and vets needing these services must go to Salt Lake Ray Hussy, UBMC Chief Financial Officer said, After six months in these circumstances. we extended it two months, then Today, the program is officially they called us and asked us to extend considered permanent Baxter said, and if contract negotiations wife it another three," The program, according to Hussy UBMC go forward as predicted the was kept alive because of the dediprogram will operate for one year cated efforts ofUBMC staff, explainwith a two year option. Ifthere are complaints about liming, If it hadnt been fin- - some of these people here who worked so iting enrollment in fee program it is hard the program wouldnt be here because our current policy says we today. SEE VhTisiiANS on page 3 The program allows UBMC phy NEEDS NEW COAT OF GOLD Angel Moroni to be removed and redone By Chervl Mecham The statue of angel Moroni is scheduled to be removed from the top of the IDS Vernal temple to be refinished wife a new coat of gold because the original coating is not up to specifications. Its not shiny enough," according totem project managers, Leo ana Vida Jorgenson. The original coat- ing of gold paint had dulled making fee angel rather drab. According to reports, the statue will probably be coated with a gold ' leafing just like the statue that adorns fee IDS Temple in Salt Lake City, however, other processes may be considered. The statue was to be taken down Monday, but due to inclement weather and a delay in moving a crane to the site the removal has been postponed until a later date. taxjMerapt Gross says wife all the idealism and hope put into the new project, it's a given feat fee only way to make the concept a winner is to hare working relationships be- "suc-cesaf- til SEE WORKFORCE on page 3 MAIN OOURTROOM-T- he Duchesne County Safety Complex will house two courtrooms, a latge one (pictured) and a smaller one. Sbeetrock is now being hung inside the courtrooms, taping and painting come next Duchesne County Sheriff Ralph Stansfield says construction work is running right on schedule. The safety complex and 1 d jail will open this spring. 60-be- |