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Show I T 1 FEDERAL LAW PROTECTS LEARNmu uioABLED STUDENTS Double trouble for kids who fight Special Ed students get special consideration in discipline cases A principal is allowed to suspend students up to 10 days. Under federal law, however, a special education student ... must be given special consideration. By Cheryl Mecham A recent assault which occurred in Union High School by a youth designated as a special education student raised the question of how school discipline is effected by federal law. All students are subject to the Safe School Policy, said Jack Bell, assistant for the Duchesne County School District, explaining that any child who violates the districts safe school policy by assaulting a teacher or student is given a mandatory suspension. A principal is allowed to suspend students up to 10 days. superintendent Under federal law, however, a special education student who is identified as having an educational disability, as defined in the Individuals With Disabilities Act, must be given special consideration. These students may only be suspended for a period not to exceed ten school days within one school year, and they cannot be expelled from school. Other students may be suspended longer as well as expelled from school and when they are it is the parents responsibility to see that alternative educational services are provided to the student, and that such services satisfy the requirements of the state By Cheryl Mecham ' compulsory education laws. The rules are different with special ed kids under federal regulation. We have to walk on eggshells to make Bure that we dont violate something, Bell explained. In the event that a recommendation is made to suspend a special education student longer than lOdays the' district must organize a team composed of; parent or guardian, special ed teacher, principal, and if appropriate (accordingtoage) the student, Bell said. This team determines whether or not the inappropriate behavior was related to the disability. Larry Henry, district Special Education director says that if it is believed that the behavior is connected to the disability the district will take steps to prevent the behavior from occurring again, however, the disci-- , plinary measure could differ from that of a student without the designation who may participate or commit the k. begins his report. A statement is taken, witnesses are Juveniles who sought and interviews begins. fight while at school are violating the Safe School Policy adopted by Duchesne County School district two years ago, explained Union High school principal, Lloyd Bur- ton. According to the policy mandatory expulxionsus- pension is called for any time a student assaults a teacher or other individual. Roosevelt City Police officer Wayne Embleton, says one ofthe most difficult challenges he faces working at Union High School is investigatingan assault after it has occurred. It's hard with kids, he said, explaining that students want to protect their friends. I take their statements, but I go after the impartial Studentawhofightonschixilgroundscaubeexpelled ones, Embleton expressed, saying that on his last by administrators up to ten days, and in very serious assault case he interviewed 21 witnesses. cases the districts superintendent may suspend until Embleton says the last few months have been pretty the school board meets, hears t he case and takes action. calm, but there have been a flurry of fights among female Embleton says an assault charge is filed when a students in the last couple of weeks caused by jealousy, juvenile approaches another individual who is unwill- and petty differences." ing to fight strikes this person. Kids who willingly take Since the school year began in late August there have part inaflght, deal withschonldisciplineaswcllasbcing been nine incidents where students were charged with referred to juvenile court. The charges an more serious disorderly conduct on school grounds, and 14 cases filed if two or more are involved in the assault , because there where teens were charged with simple assault at school. is evidence of gang activity. The minority of squabbles usually occur outside of Another type of fight ing goes on once in awhile with Embletons presence, he says, adding that it is a rare students, Embleton informed. These altercations begin thing for an altercation to take place when hes around. with two eager combatants, in this situation both juve- Usually the fight is over and theyre sitting in the nilcs arc referred to court on disorderly conduct charges. office, or have left the school, Embleton explained. He cial education. The team will also review the cial ed students educational plan to determine if the plan is meeting the students needs, and if placement in another school is a viable alternative. same act. If the team finds that a special ed behavior is not connected to their disability the student would be dealt with in the same manner as students who are not classified as spe- - ts t I f J j j j J : 1 J ; ; ' ; t Henry said that the Individuals with Disabilities Act was enacted in 1975 with the intention to protect special ed students from being excluded in public schools because of academic or behavioral challenges. Serving the. residents of Duchesne and Western Uintah Counties Uintah Basin Union wrestlers defeat Lchi Pioneers 42-3- 6 seepage TANDARB 12 Tuesday January 20, 1998 Roosevelt, Utah 85th Year No. 3 16 Pages 50 Mom arrested for hosting teen drinking party - see page 3 Titanic captivates locals, both guys and gals love movie see page 9 IS THE USE OF VANS A GOOD IDEA? Safety issues arise as schools get ready to try out new wheels I am excited about the potentuu. There are some" safety concerns, but ifwere careful and there are so many more positive aspects than negative. well-train- By Lezlee E. Whiting For years the Duchesne County School District has taken a lot of flack for sending out school buses carrying just a handful of students to compete in an activity. Many patrons fet the expense of running the school bus hundreds of miles when it wasnt full was unjustified. School district officials too, were concerned about the practice. But dont Bpeech and drama students, or chess club members have the same right to parevents as ticipate in oftheir schools footthe ball team? You bet they do. comLast year when a mittee - assembled exclusively to examine ways to cut special transportation costs in the district - came up with a recommendation to purchase vans for trips involvingjust a few students, the school board approved. The four , vans the district ordered have arrived, but at least one school district patron says she believes the school district is putting kids at risk by allowing travel to and from school activities in vans rather than school buses. And Duchesne resident Dorothy Evans has also been to the school board to question whether those who are allowed to drive the vans will be properly qualiextra-curricul- ar extra-curricul- ar eight-passeng- er fied. Thats where my concern lies, in the safety of these kids, buses have additional safety features that vans do not have, Evans said. Im all for it as long as there are qualified drivers behind the wheel, but I am still concerned about safety. Strict federal safety transportation laws dont apply to vans which carry 10 or fewer passengers. For instance those who drive vans wont have to obtain a commercial drivers license, and there are no mandated safety inspections for vans as there are for school buses. District Superintendent John Aland says those concerns have already been addressed. School district employees are only eligible to serve as van drivers after they passaSafe Driving Plus Course and attend two driver safety courses annually. They must have a current drivers license that has passed a background check and they can only transport students to Unlike approved school activities. bus drivers who are paid for each trip they make, school employees who drive the vans won't be compensated for their time. According to Aland, the school board has also made sure that each van will undergo strict maintenance checks urricular and safety inspections. Each of the four high schools will have a van for their use. If a school should need more than one van they may borrow one from another school. The school will be required to pay the cost of gas, but will not be assessed a mileage charge. All trips by van must at least one week in be advance. Altamont High Principal Joe Haslem says he's pleased with the i ed school board's decision to purchase the vans. I am excited about the potential. There are some safety concerns, but if there were careful and are so many more positive aspects than negative, Haslem commented. He pointed to the time Altamont had about five students who traveled by school bus to St George to attend a forensics meet as an example of waste that would be trimmed by uswell-train- ing vans. We wasted bus mileage, space and the time ofthe driver. The use of vans will stretch our budget so we can do more things. Brent Huffman, Pupil Transportation Specialist for the State pifice of Education, said he doesnt have figures on how many schools are using vans for small groups. At this point the ' Utah Standards Committee, which writes the standards for school buses and operations doesnt feel there is a need to regulate the use of vans by school districts, he explained. Despite the obvious safety risks of vans compared to school buses, he said its up to the various school districts to determine what their budget can handle. When it comes to cost, vans win hands down, but whats more important cost savings or safety? That's up to the school district. WOMAN IS SERIOUSLY INJURED Collision claims life of Whiterocks man By Lezlee E. Whiting Myron Accuttoroop had slowed to d make a turn into the school bus garage near Todd Elementary. An eastbound 1989 Ford pickup truck driven byJerry A Wilson, 47, of left-han- A accident on Highway 40 at Hill Top just before 8 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 14 claimed the life of old Eric Ridley, ofWhiterocks, andseriousl A. Ridley, 5 victims had to be extricated from their vehicle, neither was wearing a seat two-vehic-le 26-ye-ar belt. According to investigating UHP trooper Jack Peterson, the accident occurred when the Ridley vehicle crossed over the double yellow line and was traveling westbound in the eastbound lane after turning left in front ofan eastbound Uintah County school bus. The school bus, driven by Duchesne struck Ridleys Chevy Corsica in the passenger side. Wilson was traveling at about 55 miles per hour and attempted to brake prior to the impact Wilson and his passenger, Byron Rock, 37, of Roosevelt were wearing seat belts and were nut injured. Eric Ridley was transported to the Uintah Basin Medical Center and later pronounced dead from his injuries. Patsy Ridley sustained broken bones and head injuries, she was adm itted to the hospitals Intensive Care Unit. APARTMENT BUILDING ON THE RISE New housing starts in '97 equal '96 stats By Aldon Rachele Construction of new homes in 1997 in Roosevelt city was about the same as in 1996, according to Roosevelt City Buildinglnspector Roger Eschler, but the biggest increase was seen in the building of apartments. We have had more apartment units constructed the last couple of years when compared to years prior to 1996, said Eschler. The Haslem (Construction) apartments were built southeast ofMain Street Snows built a villa by the college and east of town near East Elementary the past two years. v Eschler commented that condominiums are a new area of home construction for 1998 with Roosevelt being a favorable market Condominiums will be developed in Roosevelt this year. There are a POOR COPY number of people who want to go the Many wy ofbuilding condominiums. condoretired people want to live in miniums to get away from yard and maintenance work. Yard work will be taken care of by the association depending on how it is set up, Eschler Eschler revealed that three construction companies have expressed a desire to build condominium housing this summer with two to be located by the golf course and one in the middle oftown. Most of the new homes that were built in 1997 where constructed near the Constitution Park area in the northwest section of Roosevelt. Eschler remarked that there haven't been any delays in inspections of new homes. We have been able to commodate everyone," he said. HIGHWAY FATALITY Crash victims had to be extricated from the Chevy Corsica involved in a fatal collision Wednesday. Jan. 14 on Hill Top. Emergency response personnel had to cut off the cars roofand doors to remove Patsy A. Ridley and her son Eric Ridley. Eric i j j TO TAKE EFFECT FEB. 6 Medicare cuts will hurt many who rely on home health care This average home-car- e patient is a 75 year -- old woman, Irving alone on an income than $10,000 a year. By Lezlee E. Whiting Some homebound seniors and chronically ill patients in the Uintah Basin who have come to depend on assistance from home health agencies will soon be gettinga letter with some very bad news. Congress has ruled that as of Feb. 6 Medicare will no longer pay to have a patients blood drawn at home if it is the only skilled service the patient requires. For diabetics, stroke victims, patients with chronic heart and blood diseases, who have come to depend on the service which prevents them from suffering unnecessary health complications, the loss will be a tremendous blow. of less 75-ye- ar a year to $25,000. The federal budget cut is expected to increase Utahs health care cost by millions ofdollars. The human factor associated with the cuts in Medicare mean that some home care patients will be forced to forgo any services, and risk jeopardizing their health. Others will have to lose the measure of independence they 10 OUT OF 17 epjoyed living on their own thanks to the visits by home health agency staff. The average home-car- e patient is a old woman, livingaloneon an income of less than $10,000 a year. None of us realize the total impact, explained Linda Cook, director of Uintah Basin Home Care Services, the more we hear the more devastating it appears to be. We just want the people in the Basin to know whats goingon. The Medicare cuts arc the result of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997. An SEE MEDICARE on page 3 GET GRANT AWARDS UBAOG Board okays funds for projects The cutbacks also mean that some who depend on home health aides to help them do everything from bathe, to dean house, grocery shop and re- By Lezlee E. Whiting mind them to take their medication, will have to go without the service. In Housing projects proposed for addition to helping the patient, the Uintah ana Duchesne counties found home health aids often provide relief favor with those responsible for allofor family members who act as the cating limited Community Developprimary care givers for an elderly or ill ment Block Grant funds. The Uintah Basin Association of Governments relative. Without the service, an estimated Board of Directors had funding re1,000 Utahns will have to be placed in quests totaling $652,000 this year, a nursing facility where the state will but just $400,000 to disperse through have to pick up the majority ofthe cost the CDBG program. Seventeen entities in the through Medicaid. The average cost for a patient who area lined up for a chance at the fed- moves from home care to a nursing money wl facility will jump from about $6,400 repaid. When the dust had cleared, a total often projects were approved by the UBAOG Board in a lengthy rating and ranking session last Thursday. Monetary amounts given to the projects which made the top ten list are as follows: 1. $40,000 for senior citizen housing rehabilitation in Vernal. 2. $40,000 for senior citizens housing rehabilitation in Uintah County. 3. $20,000 for emergency home repair in Duchesne County. 4. $40,000 for housing rehabilitation in Naples. SEE UBAOG on page 3 r'. |