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Show r T T Free government is founded in jealousy, not confidence . . . Let no more be heard of confidence in men, but bind him down from mischief by the chains of the Constitutions. Thomas Jefferson ' i Uintah Basin I 1. I : I 3 Hunter shoots at hunter? Tuesday a Utah ha shot and possibly killed another hunter in self defense is being investigated. The October 16, 2001 A report from Valley hunter that ,, incident I i Roosevelt, Utah 88, Number 42 www.ubstandard.com Vol. reportedly occurred sometime Sunday in the Bear Wallow area. A CRIMINAL PENALTIES TO BE IMPOSED See page 2 Illegal dumping targeted by Unexpected visit county commissioners The Lindsays were quite annoyed when their three dogs wouldnt stop barking. little did they know there Yr. was good reason for the f dogs' persistence. See page 13 . ! n Elk Ranching in Duchesne ILLEGAL DUMP County Commissioners will be cracking down on those who decide to toss theirgarbage into illegal dumps such as this one. The county attorney's office and sheriffs department will work together to find and prosecute violators. the Basin It has only been legal since the 1997 legislative to session keep domesticated elk herds. There are21 state approved ' . IS ek ranches located throughout the state, eight of those ranches are in Uintah and Duchesne i counties. :n.. See page r:vy ?H . 11 j&JbisSfiSsi , I Triple treat Duchesne upsets Parowan, Union clobbers Granite, and Atamont whips Milford. Seepages 16 -- 17 By Therena Morrill People within Duchesne County who have found it easier to dispose of their solid waste and household reflue in places other than the county landfill may soon be in for a rude awakening. County commissioners are working with tiie county deputy attorney to devise a plan of action that will show residents the days of illegal dumpingin Duchesne County are coming to an end. Duchesne County has an ordinance prohibitingdumping solid waste and household refuse anywhere except at tiie Bluebench Landfill. Violation of the ordinance can be punished with a maximum fine of 91,000 per day and six months in jail. Waste is defined as old furnishings, appliances, vehicles, tires, clothing, and any other items disposed of from a home or business, including agriculture equipment Each day that the dump area remains can become a new violation," explained Duchesne County Deputy Attorney Roland Uresk. It is against the law to dump on your own private land in this county." Duchesne County has long been an agricultural county, and with that distinction comes the problem of rural dumping. Uresk said it is somewhat a lifestyle issue because often farmers and ranchers dont dispose of their broken equipment and vehicles. The area then sometimes becomes a collector site for other refuse. The crackdown may even include rummaging through the refuse at illegal dump sites to identify who is responsible forthe dumping. "The problem of illegal dumping has been with us for a long time, but all three of the commissioners ire resolved to eliminate it now," said Duchesne County Commissioner Larry Ross. According to Ross, the plan will have to involve all county agencies if it is to be effective. A major player in the clean up effort will be the county attorneys office. Uresk said he is in the process of setting up an inclusive plan that will coordinate the efforts of various county offices. The sheriffs office will be another mqjor player in this because the sheriff is responsible for law enfo and dumping in the county is against the law, Ross said. Duchesne County Sheriff Ralph Stansfleld raid that he will do whatever it takes to enforce the law. "If the commissioners want ui to rce-me- nt SEE DUMPING on page3 GRAND JURY INDICTMENT FBI - . ' . . f man supplying gun used in homicide $4 EQUAL REPRESENTATION? Concerns expressed over "balance" of hew technology college governing board sent business and industry in say, he stated. By Lezlee E. Whiting At a time when everything is new since the designation of technology centers in Utah as technology colleges the Uintah Basin Applied Technology College is looking at one of its first challenges. The make-u- p of the recently appointed regional governing board of the Roosevelt and Vernal-base- d technology collegB is being questioned due to concerns over how balanced" the board is. Five of the 11 members of the hoard are there by virtue of their membership on a school district or state board. Six of the 1 1 members of the board are appointed by those five board members specifically to repre Duchesne, Uintah and Daggett counties. Five of the six recently selected members of the regional governing board hail from Uintah County. One represents Duchesne County and Daggett County has no representation. And that, according to several people involved in higher education onacountyandstate level, isnt agood way to be gin operatingthe newly designated technology college. UBATC Regional President Dick Jones explained that in accordance with legislation his job was to control the selection process, not the outcome. "I had no vote and very little verbal OPPOSITION SAYS SWEEP THEM OUT Committee wants to keep current Uintah County government By Barry Maxfield In a standing-room-onl- y meeting. Citizens for Retainingour Traditional Form of Government, presented the reasons to keep the three person county commission in Uintah County. The meeting held Wednesday, Oct. 10, at Western Park was Chaired by Ralph Preece, with Gary Showalter and Janean Lelcas making presentations of statistics and explaining the reasons to keep the traditional form of government. The perception ofthe majority who spoke at the meeting was the change in county government from a three-membCounty Commission to a County Council is primarily by "newcomers" to the area who want to change the county. Some of those who spoke also expressed comments that the new form of government would allow "activists to take over the county government, curtailing public land usage, mining, oil and railroad development and ultimately afTectingjobs in er seven-memb- er The perception of the majority who spoke is the change of government plan is being promoted primarily by newcomers" to the area who carry their own agendas. the area. Agroupcalled Citizens for a Better Form of County Government chaired by Dr. Rodney Anderson, a physician at Ashley Valley Medical Center successfully collected the required number of signatures and waded through legal red tape inorder to have the proposed change in county government placed on the Nov. 6 ballot. The County Council form of government is authorized by the State SEE COUNTY on page 3 arrests Vernal stated. Names of eligible business and industry representatives were submitted by the Vernal and Duchesne County area chambers of commerce and the Division of Workforce Services Regional Committee. Some last minute nominees were also sent in by the Utah Farm Bureau. While some submissions came to the selection committee with detailed references and recommendations, others went submitted by their business listingon a mailing list. The lists were reviewed by Duchesne County School District representative Lindon Dye, Neola; Uintah School District representative Mike McKee, Tridell; Daggett School District representative, Claire Reed, Manila; and State Board of Trustees representative Gayle McKeachnie, Vernal. State Board of Regents representative Darly Barrett, ofSalt Lake ,was unable to attend the selection meeting and told her counterparts to go through the process without her. The groupthen narrowed down the possibilities and made the final selection. The six board members chosen locally to represent business and industry are: John Busch, Vernal; Dr. Mark Dennis, Roosevelt; Raymond Murray, Fort Duchesne; James Lekas, Randlett; Nancy Aycock, Vernal; and Mark Holyoak, Vernal. Busch was later selected to represent the Uintah Basin region on the Utah College of Applied Technology Board of Trustees. According to Rep. Gordon Snow this is the first time in the past 20 years the UBATC governing board has not had equal representation between Uintah and Duchesne counties, and he said a balanced board is crucial at this juncture in time. "The local board is important because so many ofthe decisions ofwhere we go from here will be niade by that board. They will have a big part in shapingand findingour way with this new technology college, said Snow. Board members serve staggered and because the board is new some board members will see their term expire in two years, but Snow said he would like to see changes made now to balance t he representation. I believe it will be unfair to wait two years to have fairness occur," he :opy 4ft. Duchesne County Commissioner Larry Ross also expressed concerns about the lackof representation from the county on the regional UBATC board, and said it is a problem that will need to be addressed. Im not concerned about the quality of the board. I am concerned about the fairness. I think the language of the bill is part of our problem, Ross stated. Dr. Dennis, the lone business representative from Duchesne County, said he feels comfortable in working with the board, but agrees that there should have been more balance. "I think the individuals that were SEE BALANCE on page 3 By Lezlee E. Whiting The man who prosecutors believe supplied the gun that was used to kill Roosevelt Police Chief Cecil Gurr lias been denied bail by a federal judge. Michael N. Swett, 44, Vernal was arrested last Wednesday, Oct. 10 by FBI agents after a federal grand jury indicted him on two counts of federal weapons violations. Investigators allege that Swett was the person who either sold or gave the assault rifle to Lee Roy Wood, the Vernal man accused of killing Chief Gurr in July. Swett and Wood are both convicted felons who were on parole at the time of the crime. The two are restricted from having weapons. Swett was arrested without incident in Vernal and transported to Salt Lake where he was turned over to federal authorities prior to his detention hearing in U. S. District Court. At the hearing Swetts attorney tried everything hie could, but in the end could not convince the judge to let his client out of jail on bail. Swett entered pleas of not guilty to Swett entered pleas of not guilty to two charges of transferof afirearm by a convicted felon. twochargesoftransfer ofafi rearm by a convicted felon. Each charge carries a maximum penalty of ten yean in prison. According to the Uintah County Sheriffs office, Swetts arrest came at the conclusion ofa lengthy investigation involving members ofthe Ui Utah County Sheriffs Department and local FBI agents. A preliminary hearing for Wood is scheduled for Elec. 10 in 8 District Court in Vernal. Wood is charged with capital murder in the death of Chief Gurr. The chief was shot and killed July 6 when he responded to the scene of a reported domestic dispute in thepark-inglo- t ofthe Maverik Country Store in Ballard. $9.5 MILLION NOW $3.5 MILLION School board lowers ante for voters to OK in bond election By Lezlee E. Whiting Duchesne County voters will bo asked to approve a $3.5 million general obligation bond to help fund construction and remodelingat Duchesne High when they go to the polls Nov. 6. The Duchesne County School District had previously annou need they would seekvoterappmval for $9.5 million in general obligation bonds. The money, which would have been allocated over a ten-yeperiod, was going to be used to finance the Duchesne project as well as other mqjor building projects in the district. Although it requires voter approval, the general obligation bonds will have no impact on taxes. The school board reversed their earlier decision to go to voters for approval to take out up to $9.5 million in bonds because of concerns expressed about the large amount of money and lengthy time period, said Dee Miles, business manager for the school dis- trict. They thought it ($3 5 million) would be more likely to pass. That's what we need right now for the Duchesne High project and when we SEE SCHOOL BOARD on page 9 COMMISSIONERS LISTEN TO LIFE POINT Public comment cut short Duchesne County residents und local medical professional concerned with the Duchesne County Commission's decision to entertain an olTer to purchase the U intah Busi n Medical Center hy the Life Point packed commission chambers Monday morning, Oct. 15. Residents left the meeting disgruntled alter Commission Chairman Guy Thayne cut off puhlic continents alter allowing three quest ions following the presentation. Only two other for-prof- lt questions by the audience were allowed to be asked during the presentation. Thayne told those who appeared at the regular Monday morning work session that the meeting was running behind schedule and there was no more time to lake public comments. A presentation from Life Point the company that owns the Ashley Valley Medical Center and Castlevie w Hospital in Price was scheduled at 10 a.m. ns part of the commission's regular Monday morning work session. The commission agenda listed the item as discussion of Life Point proposal to purchase Uintah Basin Medical Center." Roger Marrett. assistant IBMC administrator, asked commissioners why they were even considering discussions with a company interested in purchasing! he hospital if they weren't serious. Commissioner Lorna SEE HOSPITAL on page 9 |