Nerve Agent Destruction Wrapped up at Incinerator
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www.tooeletranscript.com TUESDAY TOOELE RANSCRIPT Presidential T declaration will help Tooele recover from flood See A8 BULLETIN August 2, 2005 SERVING TOOELE COUNTY SINCE 1894 VOL. 112 NO. 21 50 cents Nerve agent destruction wrapped up at incinerator Mustard agent still to be destroyed before 2010 closure by Mark Watson pile of nerve agents GB and VX,” — good, bad or whatever,” STAFF WRITER according to DCD officials. “With Rockwell said. The U.S. Army wants Tooele this achievement, the DCD and Speakers at the event shined County residents to know there Tooele Chemical Agent Disposal the spotlight on those who work is no longer a threat for a chemi- Facility (TOCDF) workers have at DCD. cal nerve agent leak at Deseret tremendously reduced the risk “The true heroes are those Chemical Depot south of Tooele. to the surrounding community who get inside the protective Weapons containing those agents associated with the continued gear and do the grunt work on no longer exist. storage of the aging chemical a day-to-day basis,” said Gary After nine years of hard work weapons.” McCloskey, general manager of from 1,500 employees, the Tooele Tooele County Commissioner TOCDF site contractor, EG&G Chemical Agent Disposal (DCD) Dennis Rockwell thanked Defense Materials, Inc. facility recently destroyed the last employees at Deseret Chemical The Army has safely stored of the VX nerve agent stockpile. for their hard work in destroying approximately 45 percent of Tooele County Commissioners the deadly munitions. He said the nation’s original chemical signed a proclamation Friday to leaders at DCD have been coop- weapons at DCD since 1942. In photography / Troy Boman commemorate the event. erative with community leaders. August of 1996 the Army began Tooele County Commissioners Matt Lawrence, Dennis Rockwell and Colleen Johnson (l-r) signed a proc- lamation Friday commemorating the destruction of the VX nerve agent stockpile at Deseret Chemical “This milestone represents the “They always kept us in the Depot. Observing the signing are: Gary McCloskey, EG&G; Ted Ryba, project manager; Col. Raymond destruction of the entire stock- loop as to what was going on SEE NERVE AGENT ON A2 Van Pelt and Dale A. Ormond, deputy assistant secretary of the Army. Goshute ordered to reimburse bank account Victims’ advocate by Mark Watson accounts. back $17,300 to the band’s bank Moon, Wendover, was elected STAFF WRITER Bear supports storing high- accounts. secretary. The Skull Valley band of level nuclear waste on Goshute Blackbear gained access to the The election was not rec- praised for service Goshutes may be having a hard land. Blackbear and other Goshutes’ bank accounts when ognized by the U.S. Bureau time knowing whom they should members of the Goshute Tribe he and two others claimed they of Indian Affairs, and the U.S. by Alleen Lang her energy, Kuipers added, “she trust with their money. oppose that proposition. were elected to the tribe’s coun- Attorney’s Office accused the is very empathetic for people in Both Band Chairman Leon Last June, a federal judge cil. Miranda Walsh, Grantsville, group of using the election to CORRESPONDENT “You can tell a lot by looking need.” Bear and his political oppo- ordered Bear to pay back $31,500 was supposedly elected tribal gain access to some $1 million in people’s eyes,” said Minnie “We would not have a domes- nent Sammy Blackbear have for duplicate stipends he billed chairman back in 2001 with Jones, advocate against domestic tic violence shelter if it wasn’t for been ordered by federal courts the tribe. On Friday, a federal Blackbear, Salt Lake City, elect- SEE BLACKBEAR ON A2 violence. Minnie Jones,” said Troy Randall, to repay money to the tribe’s judge ordered Blackbear to pay ed vice-chairman; and Marlinda This ability to read people program manager for DCFS. has served her well for the “She worked 80 hours a week,” past 11 years as founder of the to keep the program running, first domestic violence shelter he said. “She shepherded the Midvalley in Tooele County. Her retire- program through and she shep- ment from the State of Utah herded the volunteers through to Department of Child and Family get the program up and running.” Services (DCFS) takes her off the Above all, Jones said. “She is a Highway front lines in the battle against very positive person. She kept domestic violence, but she says a degree of optimisim and a big she will continue to volunteer smile on her face when work was funding with Domestic Violence and not going well.” Sexual Assault Victim Advocacy Through her years of service (DVSAVA), answering crisis lines Jones estimates she went on over approved for the organization. 2,000 crisis calls, has aided 800- “She is a pioneer,” said Karen 900 women and helped twice that by Alleen Lang Kuipers who has worked with many children. Although she has CORRESPONDENT Jones both as an advocate and an spent a lot of time in the trenches, Tooele County will receive employee at DCFS. her work has not gone unnoticed. $3 million toward the proposed “She has sacrificed a great deal In 1998 she was presented with Midvalley Highway as part of on a personal level,” to establish the Angel of Peace Award by the a $1.8 billion in federal funds services for victims of domestic Utah Domestic Violence Council. approved to fund multi-high- violence not available 15 years way and transit projects, said ago, she said. Praising Jones for SEE JONES ON A2 Sen. Orrin Hatch and Sen. Bob Bennett. The bill, which passed the House on Thursday and the Runners to protest Senate on Friday, is on the way to the White House to be signed this week by Pres. George W. Bush, said a Bennett spokes- Vegas water grab man. The Midvalley Highway is by Missy Thompson the small ranching towns of “very much in the preliminary CORRESPONDENT Snake Valley and hope to arrive stages,” said Jim Lawrence, What would happen if a large at the Federal Building in Salt Tooele County engineer. city tried to “steal” the water Lake City on Aug. 9 with Sen. Lawrence said planners are still from a small, rural community? Orrin Hatch and hopefully Gov. discussing environmental issues A Las Vegas proposal is trying Jon Huntsman, Jr. in attendance. and working with UDOT (Utah to do just that by pumping water The residents hope to prove to Department of Transportation) out of Snake Valley, one of the Las Vegas and any other large to decide where the proposed longest (and driest) valleys in city that they won’t allow any- highway would be built. the country, and pipe it into the one to take their water from Tooele County has been con- fast growing city in the country. them. sidering an additional highway Residents of the area are very The people in Snake Valley with another I-80 interchange upset and to show their con- aren’t going to let Las Vegas into the valley for several years, cern, are organizing a peculiar take from them what they need. Lawrence said. Growth and protest. Although Las Vegas is the fast- concerns about transportation’s A kickoff celebration will est-growing city in America and needs have prompted the study of start at 6 a.m. on Monday, Aug. is in need of water itself, the an additional roadway. Although 8 in Baker, Nev. where runners residents are willing to fight to highway 36 has been expanded, will run in increments of one to stop Las Vegas from taking any- if the road should be shut down 20 miles to protest this proposal. more of it. for some reason “we don’t have Participants will run 70 miles “I left Las Vegas in 1956 and much in the way of alternate to Callao, Utah, an old Pony thought it was too big then,” said routes,” Lawrence said. Express town on the Tooele/ Callao rancher Cecil Garland The proposed Midvalley Juab County border. From in an interview with the Tooele Highway would be a divided Callao the runners will head up Transcript-Bulletin. “There four-lane highway. photography / Troy Boman to Salt Lake City with their own are no swimming pools or golf A small, fresh water spring bubbles along I-80 a few miles west of Lake Point in the general area where the pro- water in hand and messages of courses in all of Snake Valley. posed Midvalley Highway would add a divided four-lane route into Tooele Valley. Monies granted for the project protest. But, there are 60 golf courses in SEE HIGHWAY ON A8 would include design, environmental work regarding wetlands and help meet future transportation needs. The round-the-clock protest run will cover 223 miles through SEE WATER ON A2 WEATHER OPEN FORUM A4 DOINGS B3 INSIDE Mostly cloudy tonight with a chance OBITUARIES A6 TV LISTINGS B4 Tooele Legion topples Judge of showers. Lows in the 70s. Partly to stay alive in state tourney cloudy Wednesday. Highs in the 80s. SPORTS A10 CROSSWORD B4 See A9 Complete Forecast: A2 HOMETOWN B1 CLASSIFIEDS B6 A2 TUESDAY August 2, 2005 ETCETERA ... in Tooele for a short time. Jones The Jones family then moved continued from page A1 to Vernal where they owned a News Briefs Valley Weather Forecast gift shop and jewelry store. Jones Local Weather Jones began her journey as an Village Blvd. remains closed worked on a crisis hotline while Wed advocate for victims of domestic living in Vernal and says, “I just through this coming Thursday 87/62 violence in 1993 when she was 8/3 enjoyed it.” As part of the state Route 36 charged with the task of launch- Morning sunshine followed by iso- Minnie and Jimmie Jones Project the Utah Department of ing the shelter.