The Daily Spectrum from Saint George, Utah • 1

THE DAILY chew up Lions PageAiO Tuesday, December 11, 1990 Vol.24 No. 291 35 Southern Edition gy xj LLli VlLXL -LL jll Briefs BLM recommends 2 million acres of wilderness that make up the Utah Wilderness Coalition charged that the BLM's recommendation did not "properly identify and protect the tremendous diversity of Utah's red rock canyons and Great Basin wild lands." Jane Leeson, Utah representative of The Wilderness Society, said the study was based on "fundamentally flawed" decisions made more than a decade ago. "The BLM never identified all the lands which should be considered for wilderness in Utah," she said. Republican Gov. Norm Banger-ter, a critic of sweeping wilderness designations, was at the Republican Governors Association in North Carolina Monday.

But Chief of Staff Bud Scruggs said the BLM proposal was "clearly in range with what the governor's been talking about for a couple of years now. February, with the impact statement providing 4,133 pages of analysis and justification Tor its decision. At present, 3.2 million acres of BLM land are study areas, enjoying most of the same protections as designated areas. More than 802,000 acres fall under Forest Service wilderness designation. The 1.975 million acres would be added to the BLM's existing 22,600 of designated land.

The BLM's proposal would establish 66 separate wilderness units, including eastern Utah's Desolation Canyon and the slickrock country of the Escalante River Basin in the south. The final EIS now goes to the secretary of the interior, who will submit the package to the president, who will give his recommendation to the Congress by October 1993. Congress has no time limit in which to act. "Now that the facts are on the table and the public has been "Our position is that we appreciate the BLM's approach because they talk about specific areas," he said. Owens was in the Middle East Monday, but press secretary Art Kingdom said the congressman has been realistic about the prospect that not all the 5.1 million acres he proposed for study would indeed be designated as wilderness.

He said Owens has talked to Bill Orton, R-Utah, about holding public meetings on his proposal to southern Utah, where the opposition to wilderness designation is centered. Hansen said, "I'm a great believer in having some areas held for wilderness, but, on the other hand, I'm probably the biggest proponent in this state for multiple use of public lands. I honestly feel we can come up with a decent wilderness bill that will not be detrimental to the economy of southern Utah." hailenger execs facing choices in Ponquifch court I a W. 4 i ft i 'v. fn 'j i V'lV- I it --v, 1 SALT LAKE CITY (AP) The Bureau of Land Management has recommended designating nearly 2 million acres of wilderness in Utah, based on what environmentalists denounced as "fundamen tally flawed" decisions.

The proposal, in the form of a final environmental impact statement, marks another stage in a 12-year-old debate over wilderness designation in Utah. Congress ultimately will determine how much land is designated wilderness and Rep. Wayne Owens, D-Utah, who has recommended protecting 5.1 million acres as wilderness, believes it will take another three years before a compromise is negotiated. Rep. James V.

Hansen, R-Utah, said he would reintroduce his legislation calling for 1.4 million acres of BLM wilderness and said congressional action could come as soon as the end of 1991. The agency's recommendation follows the BLM's proposal last Judge rules in LDS abuse case SALT LAKE CITY (AP) A federal magistrate has concluded that a man accused in a suit of abusing his adoptive daughter can block disclosure of his conversations with Mormon clergy and records of his excommunication. U.S. Magistrate Ronald Boyce said communications between Steven LeRoy Hammock and his bishop and stake president and the record of Hammock's excommunication from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are 'privileged. Micneue scon, zz, bait LAKe City, brought a $2.5 million lawsuit against Hammock, alleging she was sexually and physically abused from age 5 until she left home when she was 15 years old.

The federal-court suit seeks compensation for pain and emotional suffering and for psychological counseling. Her attorney, Ross C. Anderson, said he's disappointed with the ruling. "The defendant denies the sexual abuse took place," said Anderson. "Without information from the Mormon Church, it will be difficult to prove the actions occurred." Hammock pleaded guilty to two counts of forcible sexual abuse of a child in 1983, said Anderson, but records from his confinement in a Utah halfway house have been destroyed.

Hammock, who now resides in Phoenix, declined comment on the case. In a 22-page report Monday, Boyce said conversations between a church member and an ecclesiastical leader are privileged when it's understood the communication is to be confidential. Conversations Hammock had with his church leaders were "for the religious purpose of receiving church counseling and ecclesiastical advice. Therefore, the communications are privilege from discovery," he said. The ruling, which goes to U.S.

District Judge David Sam, grants a motion from Hammock for a protective order and a motion to quash from the Mormon Church. "The BLM never identified all the lands which should be considered for wilderness in Utah." Jans Leeson, The Wilderness Society heard, we stand ready to assist the governor, the congressional delegation and others working to resolve this issue," said BLM State Director James Parker in a prepared statement. "Hopefully, our EIS can serve not only as an information resource but as a catalyst for a timely decision." The 3.2 million acres now under study will remain so until Congress acts, said BLM spokesman Don Banks. The 37 environmental groups plan stirs debate for the Grand Canyon Trust, an environmental group in Flagstaff. "But it appears that Tusayan is going to grow, and we are concerned," Clark added.

Marvin Hatch, a Winslow-area rancher who has 360 acres of the land that the Forest Service is considering trading for, said he can hardly contain his enthusiasm for the proposal. "People come here to see the canyon and have nothing to do beyond that," he said. "That's why Las Vegas has become the capital of the canyon. But with ideas like this, Tusayan could become a very nice place." Court reinstates Utah libel suit SALT LAKE CITY (AP) The Utah Supreme Court on Monday reinstated a libel suit against Primary Children's Medical Center and two of its social workers, saying letters containing child sexual abuse allegations were not protected by statutory privilege. The lawsuit had been dis missed by 3rd District Judge James S.

Sawaya, who ruled that all three of the allegedly libelous letters were entitled to qualified immunity under Utah's child abuse reporting laws. The suit was filed by Jalene Ortez Allen and Lynn Allen. They are the mother and step father of a boy whose father. Raymond Ortez, alleged had been sexually abused during a 1984 visit at his mother home. Salt Lake last to present bid SALT LAKE CITY (AP) Salt Lake City will be the last city to deliver its presentation to the International Olympic Committee in June when the site of the 1998 Winter Games is decided.

The order established by lot was Ostersund, Sweden; Jaca, Spain; Aosta, Italy; Nagano, Japan: and Salt Lake City, the city bid committee said Monday. As the final presenting city, Salt Lake has the opportunity to leave a lasting impression, espe cially in showing the strengths of the city as an ideal Olympic host," said Tom Welch, committee chairman. Prosecutors ask for court order SALT LAKE CITY (AP) Prosecutors have asked the Utah Supreme Court to order a lower court to review its reversal of a physician's negligent homicide conviction in the 1986 death of an infant delivered at home. A 2nd Circuit Court jury con victed Dr. David R.

Warden, Layton, of the class A misde meanor, ana ne was placed on two years' probation and fined $3,100. In a 2-1 vote, the Utah Court of Appeals last November reversed the conviction, ruling the evidence failed to establish criminal negligence. Davis County prosecutors con tend the doctor was negligent in not immediately hospitalizing the infant that died 11 hours after being delivered Nov. 7, 1986. An autopsy showed the infant was six to seven weeks premature and died from respiratory distress caused by prema ture lungs.

Today's verse "As a dog returneth to his vomit, so a fool returneth to his folly." Proverbs 26:11 Abby B2 B4-5 Calendar A8 Classifieds B7-9 Comics B10 Local, Region A2-3 Opinion A5 Sports A10-11 Today's People B2 T.V B10 Weather See page A2 Snowbird Christmas ST. GEORGE Snowbirds Dorothy and Orvilie Harden decorate their outdoor Christmas tree with ribbons and an angel. They say their trailer in a local RV park is too small inside to put the greenery there. (Spectrum Nancy Rhodes) PANGUITCH (AP) Challenger founder Steve Cartisano has -been charged with issuing bad checks, and the wilderness-therapy program's former No. 2 man, Lance Jagger, has been accused of attacking his ex-wife, Marlene Jagger.

Jagger, who was fired from Challenger last fall and organized his own wilderness-therapy program, North Star, with two other former Challenger employees, was charged Monday in Panguitch with class misdemeanor assault. Challenger and its owner, Steve Cartisano, have been charged with two counts of issuing bad checks, said Garfield County Attorney Wallace Lee. One count is a third-degree felony and the other a class misdemeanor. Cartisano's wife, Debbie, said the bad checks were an "oversight" and were lost in the shuffle of the company's filing for bankruptcy. "They're being taken care of," she said.

Challenger has since popped up in Hawaii under the name Challenger where Cartisano says he is acting as a consultant. Challenger was closed there Friday after the state obtained a temporary restraining order against the company. The nine students involved in the program were airlifted from the island of Molokai and have since been placed in foster homes or sent to the mainland with their parents. An attempt by Challenger and Cartisano to have the federal court set aside the state judge's order was rejected Monday by U.S. District Judge Alan Kay, who ruled it was a matter for the state courts.

Following the death in Utah of a 16-year-old Florida girl in the Challenger program last summer, Jagger and Cartisano were charged with negligent homicide and nine counts each of child abuse. Those charges against Jagger were dropped when he agreed to testify against Cartisano. FAIR GOOD FAIR The assault charge against Jagger stems from an alleged attack on his ex-wife about a week ago, said Lee. Marlene Jagger has also been successful in getting a restraining order against her ex-husband. Because of a new state statute governing programs that deal with juveniles, the assault charge prevents Jaeger from working directly with the students currently enrolled in North Star, said Utah Department of Human Services licensing specialist Ken Stettler.

"Anytime there's any kind of abuse or criminal charge, the person involved can have no involvement directly with the children in the program until the charge is disposed somehow," said Stettler. One of the checks involved in the bad-check charges against Challenger and Cartisano was issued to Garfield County for a tax payment, and the other was issued to an Escalante individual for services he performed for Challenger. Drilling for oil off in Rockies CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) Oil and gas drilling activity in the Rocky Mountain states is lagging behind activity in other oil states, possibly because the entire industry is about to enter a slump, according to one analyst. Jack Eckstrom of Petroleum Information Corp.

in Denver stopped short Monday of predicting a nationwide slump in drilling activity, but indicated he wouldn't be surprised if such a thing came about. "I do not know that this is a predictor for the rest of the country, but if, the trend continues, I think it could be a harbinger of things to come," he said. Eckstrom, director of industry affairs for Petroleum Information, said the Rockies' oil industry traditionally lags behind the other oil states when exploration activity picks up, Source: UHP Utahns want safer highways, troopers find in new survey RATE THE OVERALL JOB PERFORMANCE OF THE UTAH HIGHWAY PATROL Grand Canyon TUSAYAN, Ariz. (AP) A land-swap proposal that would nearly triple the size of Tu-sayan, an unincorporated community that serves as a commercial gateway to the Grand Canyon, is drawing expressions of praise and concern. The Kaibab National Forest announced last week it would consider swapping up to 300 acres adjoining Tusayan for about 1,400 acres of private land within the forest.

Tusayan is surrounded by federal land. "This land exchange is only in its beginning said Roger Clark, director of research Overall job performance of the Utah Highway Patrol is evaluated by Utah citizens as "good" 57 percent of the time, and "excellent" 25 percent of the time. The Highway Patrol in Utah is also viewed as effective in doing their jobs, according to 86 percent of the citizenry. One in three say the UHP is "very" effective. Those who felt the UHP was ineffective were asked why.

The main reason offered was that there are simply not enough UPH officers. Even so, only one of three Utahns queried said they were aware most of the state has no Highway Patrol officers on duty after midnight. Ninety-one percent of Utahns said it is important to have Highway Patrol officers on duty after midnight. Only 7 percent said it is not important. "We'll be pleading our case for more Highway Patrol before the Legislature in January," said Bodrero.

"It will take at least one hundred to meet minimum traffic service responsibilities. We'll ask for 33 to start." 70- 57 60- A 40 YCWWWW 30- Jjj 20- fj i SALT LAKE CITY A recent survey conducted for the Utah Department of Public Safety found that Utahns want stricter drunken driving enforcement and more Utah Highway Patrol troopers in order to make their highways safer. "We wanted to find out how Utahns felt about the Highway Patrol and what can be done to improve highway safety in Utah," said Doug Bodrero, commissioner for the Utah Department of Public Safety of the Dan Jones poll. "This survey is the best gauge yet for determining what drivers expect from us. We will use it in setting the agenda for traffic-law enforcement for the next several years." Nearly two-thirds (61 percent) of the respondents said they would prefer to have the UHP concentrate efforts on controlling drunken drivers.

Younger respondents were more likely Jo spealc in favor of DUI enforcement, while residents age 50 and over leaned toward speed enforcement as the best way to improve highway safety. Vjshopping dayjf EXCELLENT POOR DC POOR i.