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Show TheEmeryCountyReview.com Treasures in a Bottle Spartan Power Emery destroys Carbon in tennis Fay Roper shares her canning secrets B1 REVIEW C3 Emery County The Volume 2, Issue 36. Local News, Local Voice, Locally Owned 75 Cents Tuesday, September 2, 2008 CEU merger fears continue Josie Luke News of proposed legislation that would merge the College of Eastern Utah and Utah State University produced a firestorm in Carbon and Emery counties in February of this year, but the legislation was quietly put on hold until more information could be gathered. A task force, organized by the State Board of Regents has recently been doing just that. The interim task force was called for by the Legislature in House Bill 3 to study possibilities for “greater collaboration and cooperation between the College of Eastern Utah and Utah State University, including consideration of partnerships, alliances, or a merger, in order to increase educational opportunities for the citizens in eastern Utah and maximize state resources.” When the proposed merger legislation was initially announced in an article by the Salt Lake Tribune, many were caught off guard, including many of the faculty and administration at CEU, who along with many community members were reticent because of what they viewed as “unanswered questions.” Now that the interim task force is examining the idea, concerns have risen again, the most prevalent issue being the possible loss of vocational programs at CEU were the two colleges to merge. Edward Clark, the career and technical education director for the Emery County School District is especially concerned over the possible loss. “If CEU and Utah State were to merge, there’s a good chance we’ll lose vocational programs,” said Clark. He bases his view on the differing missions of the two institutions, with USU moving toward becoming a research institution and CEU recently merging with the Western Energy Training Center as an example of its commitment to continuing vocational education. Emery High School currently has four programs that are tied into CEU programs. Clark fears that two of those programs would be lost were the merger to occur. “I’m just afraid people don’t really understand the issues,” said Clark, who fears that along with the loss of vocational programs, tuition would also jump, and scholarships, which benefit local students would be lost. The loss would also have the “potential to have a huge effect” on the local economy, according to Emery County Economic Development Director Mike McCandless. He explained that the job training that students receive at CEU provides capable workers needed in local industry. McCandless held, “Any proposal to merge must include how to continue these Continued on Page A3. Industrial park interest more than just nuclear Josie Luke Although much of the focus on the large industrial park west of Green River has recently been placed on a nuclear power plant possibly being built on the land, county officials are receiving inquiries from a myriad of companies interested in the area. Emery County Economic Development Director, Mike McCandless reported that he receives inquiries from companies “once to twice a week.” He said that many of them are excited about Green River, but explained the area will not fit every business. “I’m targeting businesses that fit Green River. If it’s not a good fit, we don’t want to pursue it,” he said. Still, many are interested, and McCandless is in contact with them on “a daily basis.” Because the companies involved have not committed, he is hesitant to name them specifically, but revealed that several would be “exciting opportunities” for the community. One of the companies McCandless spoke specifically about was a “very large, well-respected distribution company” who works in the gas and energy industry. Another is a large manufacturing company, dealing with paper manufacturing, and a third is a “recycling project.” He added that discussions are continuing with Mancos Resources, and said that work on that front is “progressing well.” McCandless continued to stress that the power plant is a long-term process, and so he is looking at many other options. He has been frustrated with reports in state newspapers about the plant which “just don’t tell the whole truth.” He clarified that those who wish to lease land in the area would be required to do so on a “first come, first served basis and, if the company were to purchase the land, there would still be a large amount of land still available, with the industrial park consisting of 2,500 acres of state institutional trust lands and 800 acres of private land. “I am still trying to fill every acre,” he stated. “At this point, I don’t have any concern with excluding anybody.” At a recent Emery County Commission Meeting, the commissioners elected to sign the latest draft of development lease on the land with SITLA, and a public hearing on rezoning the area is scheduled for Sept. 10, at 7 p.m. in the Green River City Hall. Photos by James L. Davis Nielson Construction crews work on an overlay project on SR-10 last year. A shortage of asphalt oil has slowed many of the company’s projects to a crawl. Rationing the Road A shortage of asphalt fueled by increased demands and higher prices has led to delays for some UDOT projects James L. Davis The high cost of oil is hitting Utah motorists in more than just the fuel tank; it’s making for a bumpy ride as an asphalt shortage is delaying many area road projects until next spring. Nielson Construction has idled one of its two asphalt paving crews as a result of severe asphalt oil shortages that have limited the ability of contractors throughout Utah and Colorado in completing road construction projects. The shortage of asphalt oil has been an issue that contractors have had to wrestle with for more than a year, but the drastic increase in oil prices has made a bad situation even worse. With asphalt oil being a byproduct of oil refineries and the higher profits available in gasoline production, many refineries are not producing asphalt oil at the level they once were. Add to that the fact that the demand for asphalt has skyrocketed in the Intermountain area, and the end result has been that the once rapid pace of road construction projects has slowed to a crawl. The Utah Department of Transportation is looking at postponing a number of projects, partly due to the shortage of asphalt and partly due to the fact that asphalt prices have increased so dramatically that budgets are being busted. Like many contractors in the state, Nielson Construction is having to adjust to a shortage of asphalt oil and polymers to Nielson crews work on a driveway project in Lawrence. The company has been able to obtain asphalt oil for some of its commercial projects, but asphalt oil that will meet UDOT specifications for highways has been hard to come by. make its asphalt. Hardest hit have been the asphalt oil and polymers required to make superpave for UDOT projects. Nielson Construction is traveling as far as Montana and Colorado now to purchase asphalt oil, but the oil it has been able to purchase does not meet state specifications for superpave for state and federal highways, meaning that the asphalt they are able to produce can be used for commercial use for such things as county roads, parking lots and driveways, but not for state projects. The cost of the oil has also skyrocketed, as well as the added expense of traveling longer distances to purchase the oil. According to Robert Peirce, Nielson Construction Asphalt manager, the construction company is running tests on a new asphalt mix using asphalt oil it is able to acquire to see if it can meet UDOT specifications, but the results of those tests are still pending. “If the mix design passes we can still get a lot done this year,” Peirce said. UDOT is keenly aware of the problem and has been working with contractors throughout the state on projects that have already been started to allow for extensions and are delaying some of those that have not started. Locally, Nielson Construction has all but completed a project on SR-6 between Wellington and the Sunnyside Junction. All that remains is a little more than two miles of road that needs an overlay. But with the shortage of asphalt oil, that final two miles will most likely have to wait until spring for completion. The same is true for a road project the company has been working on in Cat Canyon, Continued on Page A6. |
