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Show Page 2 THE OGDEN VALLEY NEWS Volume IX Issue VII January 15, 2004 The OGDEN VALLEY NEWS Staff: Shanna Francis Tel: 745-2688 Fax: 745-0062 Cell: 791-4387 E-Mail: slfrancis@att.net Jeannie Wendell Tel: 745-2879 Fax: 745-2879 E-Mail: crwendell@att.net crwendell@msn.com Opinions expressed by advertisers, columnists or letters to the editor are not necessarily the opinions of the owners and staff of The O GDEN VALLEY NEWS. Guidelines for Letters to the Editor Letters should be 300 words or less. Letters must be signed and the address of the writer submitted. The O GDEN VALLEY NEWS reserves the right to edit or decline printing of any submissions. Announcements Sought As a community service, The O GDEN VALLEY NEWS will print local birth, wedding, obituary, anniversary and missionary farewell & homecoming and Eagle Scout announcements free of charge. We invite residents to send their announcements to: The OGDEN VALLEY NEWS PO BOX 130 EDEN UT 84310 If you would like your submitted items returned, please send a stamped, selfaddressed envelope. The OGDEN VALLEY NEWS, while respecting all property received, will take no responsibility for lost or misplaced items. Please remember to keep a copy for yourself. Invitation for Articles The staff of The OGDEN VALLEY NEWS welcomes the submission of articles by our readership. We invite you to submit local historical accounts or biographies, articles pertaining to contemporary issues, and/or other material that may be of interest to our readers. We also invite you to submit to the paper, or notify the staff of local events. Awards that have been earned by the reader, family members, neighbors or friends are also sought. While the staff of The OGDEN VALLEY NEWS invites the submittal of information and articles, we reserve the right to select which material will be considered for publication. All material, to be considered, must be submitted with the full name, address and telephone number of the person submitting the material. The OGDEN VALLEY NEWS’ liability on account of errors in, or omissions of, advertising shall in no event exceed the amount of charges for the advertising omitted or the space occupied by the error. Letters to the Editor Fire Department Reminds Residents of Winter Safety Issues Winter has certainly come to our valley! This year’s snow reminds me of what it was like in my younger days. I thought that this would be a good time to remind residents of some important safety issues. 1. If you have a fire hydrant close to your house, think about adopting it for the winter, and keeping it cleared of snow. The fire station has crews digging out, but there are so many hydrants and so little time. Any help would be appreciated. 2. If you are on natural gas, make sure your meter is not buried. If your house roof slides on the meter, the meter needs to have a roof over it so the snow and ice do not break the piping. WEBER SCHOOL cont. from page 1 students. Over the last 28 years, hundreds of thousands of dollars have been raised through Christmas Tree Jubilee, golf tournaments, grants, and private donations to increase the quality of education in classrooms, and to improve the lives of students with disabilities. “We have funded new library books, scientific calculator sets, microscopes for science exploration, communication aids, hearing aids, and special bikes for students with disabilities, “ said Howells. “We know out teachers’ open hearts will help open the minds of students and communities,” Howells said. “We hope the greater part of the community will want to be involved with the Foundation by donating whatever they can to improve and expand education.” HAVE A UNIQUE LOVE STORY YOU’D LIKE TO SHARE WITH OUR READERS FOR VALENTINE’S DAY? SEND YOUR STORY, OR SOMEONE ELSE’S YOU KNOW, TO THE OGDEN VALLEY NEWS! Inspirational Thought There is nothing in the world really beneficial that does not lie within the reach of an informed understanding and a well-protected pursuit. --Edmund Burke The O GDEN VALLEY N EWS does not endorse, promote or encourage the purchase or sale of any product or service advertised in this newspaper. Advertisements are the sole responsibility of the advertiser. The OGDEN VALLEY NEWS hereby disclaims all liability for any damage suffered as the result of any advertisement in this newspaper. The O GDEN VALLEY N EWS is not responsible for any claims or representations made in advertisements in this newspaper. The OGDEN VALLEY NEWS has the sole authority to edit and locate any classified advertisement as deemed appropriate. It also reserves the right to refuse any advertising. Note: The contents of The OGDEN VALLEY N EWS are copyrighted. To protect this publication and its contributors from unlawful copying, written permission is required before any individual or company engages in the reproduction or distribution of its contents, by any means, without first obtaining written permission from the owners of this publication. Deadline for material for the February 1 OVN issue is January 21. 3. Make sure your smoke detectors have fresh batteries, and that you test your detectors every month to make sure the batteries are still effective. 4. Make sure that the exits from your house that you use for evacuation in case of a fire are still usable. There should be two ways to exit any room, especially sleeping rooms. 5. Carbon monoxide (CO) detectors are a must if you use any heat source other than electricity. This cold time of year is when we receive the most CO calls. CO is a gas given off by any type of combustion and can be deadly if a heat source malfunctions. It is recommended to have one detector for every sleeping level. The detectors are inexpensive and they save lives. 6. If you haven’t cleaned your wood burning fireplace or stove chimney, get it done. Creosote buildup can cause a fire that can be dangerous and costly. Professional cleaning is recommended. 7. Shoveling your roof is more of a danger than the snow on it. Newer homes are built to support substantial snow loads. Doing a few simple things can make a big difference in your home safety. Let’s all enjoy the beautiful winter and come out of it safe and sound. Thanks for all your support in the past and in the future. Captain John Larrison Weber Fire District Eden Fire Station Snow Loads on Roofs Heavy snow loads on roofs can cause frustrating dilemmas for homeowners. Many and prolonged snowfalls create concern about the roof’s ability to support tons of ice and snow for long periods of time. What should you do? If you have a newer structurally sound house, the roof can probably support two feet of snow or one inch of ice, plus one foot of snow, over an extended time period. Should you leave the ice and snow and risk roof collapse, or should you remove the snow and risk damage to shingles and yourself? Because it is dangerous, it is best to hire professionals to remove snow. There is no simple solution to this dilemma. When listening to weather forecasts, pay attention to the type and amount of snow that has recently fallen. Depth and moisture content of the snow in your locale dictate how concerned you need to be. But you still need to have some idea about how much weight your roof is capable of supporting, how much dead weight is already on the roof (layers of shingles) and how heavy the ice/snow accumulation is on your roof. Local building and housing inspectors, structural engineers, carpenters, architects and lumber managers may be a source of help in determining the existing roof conditions and potential support it will give. You need to know, however, how many layers of shingles are now on the roof. Most building codes restrict the layers to two. Most homes in Minnesota carry 10 pounds of roofing materials per square foot per one layer of shingles. The more layers already on the roof, the less weight of snow and ice the roof will be able to support. You also need to measure the weight of ice and snow. It is not the depth of snow but the moisture content that is the critical factor. Very dry snow contains 3% water and very heavy wet snow is about 20% water content. For more information on measuring snow weight and safe snow removal, contact your local Extension office and ask for publication, FO-6891-GO, Roof Snow Loads. Avalanche Awareness Snow avalanches are a common feature of the Utah mountain landscape. The combination of heavy annual snowfall, wind, and steep slopes result in potential instabilities in the layered mountain snowpack. The Utah mountains receive between 22 and 25 inches of precipitation annually, most falling in the winter as snow. This amounts to 200 to 600 inches of annual snow at elevations above 7,000 ft. It is not unusual to receive 1 to 4 ft of snow in a single storm cycle. The most significant weather factor contributing to avalanche formation and release is wind. Wind speed and direction vary with elevation, latitude, and topography. Average wind speeds at 8,000 ft are 15 to 20 miles per hour with speeds increasing at higher elevations. In general, winds greater than 15 miles per hour transport snow from windward aspects, and deposit it as wind slabs on lee slopes. Of the elements contributing to avalanche potential, terrain is the most constant. Most slab avalanches occur on slope with steepness between 30 and 45 degrees. Aspect, or the direction a slope faces, affects wind loading and exposure to sun. Midwinter avalanches are most common on north, northeast , and east facing slopes. Colder temperatures cause the development of weaker snow, and slopes with these aspects are most often loaded by prevailing winds. Other terrain features that influence avalanche occurrence are elevation, slope configuration (e.g., convex vs. concave), and the presence of gullies, cirques, and vegetation. There are several types of avalanches including loose snow, cornice falls, ice, and slab avalanches. The pack is ever changing, subject to additional snowfall and erosion by wind and sun resulting in a characteristic layered pattern. Slab avalanches are possible when a cohesive layer (the slab) is separated by a weak layer from a bed surface below. When the stress on a slab exceeds the strength that holds it in place, the potential for a slab avalanche exists. Most natural slab avalanches occur during or shortly after significant loading by additional new snow, or by wind redeposited snow or rain. If natural avalanches do not occur within this period, the snowpack will adjust to the new load. Most human triggered avalanches occur before the snowpack has had sufficient time to stabilize. Encounters between humans and avalanches have increased in recent year in Utah and North America in general. One obvious reason for this is the increase in the number of people engaged in back country winter use. Another is that technological advances in skis, snowboards, snowshoes and snow machines enable users to more easily access dangerous avalanche terrain. Most avalanche accidents occur when the victim or a member of the victim’s party triggers a slab avalanche. Avalanche awareness, route selection, stability evaluation, and hazard assessment are essential in preventing backcountry avalanche incidents. The most obvious sign of instability is recent avalanching. Other clues to instability include collapsing or hollow sounds, shooting cracks, and evidence of recent wind loading. A variety of snowpack stability tests can be conducted to look for AVALANCHES cont. on page 11 |