Casper Star-Tribune from Casper, Wyoming • 13

star. Wyoming Bl Thursday, February 6, 1992 Star-Tribune, Casper, Sheridan school drug program in dispute Sullivan: Gets high marks on finances V- Dewey Vanderhoff The remnants of the Eagle Valley-Lakeside Lodge Resort acquired by the federal government as part of the Buffalo Bill Dam expansion project are framed by Rattlesnake Mountain, pushes federal land limits By MICHAEL RILEY Star-Tribune correspondent SHERIDAN A drug and alcohol awareness program being taught at a Sheridan middle school drew fire from parents at a Sheridan County School District No. 2 board meeting Tuesday night. I Some parents demanded at the meeting that their children be removed from Central Middle Schools' Quest program, which the district uses to fulfill state drug education requirements. The parents said the program which proponents say is designed to build self-esteem and in- dependent decision-making is veiled in secrecy and interferes with family values and relationships.

But the school principal, other parents, and children who have taken the class defended the Quest curriculum at the meeting as an important way to help students cope with adolescent stress. "What I'm saying to you as a board is you need to take a stand on this," school principal Nancy Vandeventer told the school board. "This is a really good program." The Quest program was instituted last year as a requirement of all seventh graders at the school as an extension of the district's commitment "to directly help kids offset the pressures of" becoming involved with the drug and alcohol issue," according to Assistant Superintendent Jim Longin, who helped develop the curriculum. The program brings small groups of students together in an atmosphere of security and confidentiality, proponents say, and works at getting the adolescents to talk about issues important to them, including peer and parental pressure. Although the board didn't take any action Tuesday, members directed school administrators to try to educate parents about Quest.

The trustees also pointed out that parents could withdraw their children from the program under a religious exemption allowed by the state. "We're committed to making a better effort at making the materials more available for parental review," Longin said. The board will make a final decision on the program at its next scheduled meeting in two weeks. Some parents told the board that they objected to confidentiality in the program. They claimed that their children had been specifically instructed not to tell them what went on in class and complained to the board that teaching materials for the course weren't available.

"I'm not for Quest or against it, but what I want to know is when parents went to the school, why couldn't look at the manual, why couldn't they go to the classroom," parent Mary Gertz told the board. "If it's not secret, why not open it up?" Longin said that six parents have formally requested that their children be withdrawn from Quest. Parent Jeanna Wright said last week she withdrew her son from the district altogether because of Quest and other problems, and plans to school him at home. There are more than 300 students now in the program in the district, Longlin said. In Wyoming, 61 schools use the Quest curriculum, according to the district.

"I've come to the conclusion that the course has no place in my child's education," Wayne Harper said. "I know from watching other parents that they'd rather set their children aside and let daycare raise them," he said. "It's the children who should be questioning their teachers that teach anything but the reading, writing, and arithmetic that we taxpayers are paying to have them do," Harper added. But Lisa Grimes, a student who has been involved in the Quest program, told the board her experience had been very positive. "We're the students and we know what we do in there," she said.

"It's mostly just a time to get out our feelings which pretty much helps people because it makes you feel better and helps you with peer pressure." According to board member Ed Miller, "As the kids leave elementary school, they have new pressures on them. Maybe their parents would like them to play sports or be in the band and maybe they're not really good at it. What this teaches the children is to try to talk with their parents and say look 'you might have been a good football player, but I'd like to play the .4 Last resort Delegation By The Associated Press Wyoming's congressional delegation has argued in favor of a bill designed to limit the growth of federal land ownership and improve public land management. U.S. Rep.

Craig Thomas, author of the "no net gain" measure, said Tuesday his bill would allow acquisition of federal land for protection and preservation, but would allow certain non-essential federal lands to be sold to the private sector. The no net gain concept means the federal government must sell to the private sector as much land as it acquires. Doing so would strengthen local economies, put more land on state tax rolls, manage public land more efficiently and improve public land access for sportsmen, Thomas said in a news release. "I fully support acquisition of unique land. Buffalo Valley, for instance, was a federal purchase I fully supported and helped through quisitions when the federal land bank is already bulging," Wallop said.

Simpson said there is a "rush" by the federal government to buy more and more land. "How much is too much? I fear we are rapidly approaching that level," Simpson said, noting nearly half of Wyoming is owned by the federal government. "By curbing the growth of federal land holdings we curb the expansionist acquisition policies of the federal government, we help to reduce the demands on the shrinking federal dollar, we take a step to improve the reasonable use of land acquisition fund and offset that expenditure at the same time," Simpson said. "We also continue to preserve and protect our natural resources for the use of all generations and we reaffirm the bedrock principles of private ownership, which were the motivating force behind the creation of our country." Campbell mines eye second big year CHEYENNE (AP) Gov, Mike Sullivan and Massachusetts Gov. William F.

Weld were the; only governors to receive an "A' grade from the Cato Institute fop their fiscal policies. I Weld received an overall score" of 85 to top the nation's governors in fiscal management, while Sullivan received a 75, wrote Stephen Moore, the institute's di rector of fiscal policy studies, in an article that appeared in The Wall Street Journal Wednesday. The Washington-based institute released its rankings after Democratic governors assailed President George Bush for his economic policies during a meeting Monday. "They certainly have a Moore wrote of the governors' attack. "Yet with more than half the states facing record deficits this year, some of these governors might do well to examine their own reckless fiscal policies before they begin casting stones." Sullivan was singled out by the Cato Institute for guiding Wyoming through the economic bust that followed the energy industry's boom in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

"Mr. Sullivan responded to the fiscal crisis by dramatically downsizing the state government," Moore wrote. "He trimmed 79 government agencies down to just 12. Each year from 1987 to 1990 personal income rose 5 percentage points faster than government spending. "Mr.

Sullivan also has resisted all calls for a major tax hike. Thanks to the budget austerity program of the late 1980s, Wyoming's finances are in better shape (though the budget is still bloated) than the vast majority of state governments today," he added. 'This is truly a record for other governors to emulate." The article did not note, however, the help Sullivan received from the Legislature in reorganizing state government, nor the current $175 million deficit projected for the coming biennium. -According to the article, though, under Sullivan per family spending by state government after being adjusted for inflation fell by $1,068 from 1987 through 1990. Sinclair refinery fixes fire damage -i SINCLAIR (AP) The Sin clair Oil refinery is up and run ning again despite extensive damage from a fire that burned a refining unit on Saturday, the plant manager said.

No jobs will be affected and little production was lost, Manager Ron Johnson said on Tuesday. Refinery officials also credited quick action of area agencies and the training of refinery workr ers for controlling what they said could have been a more serious fire. No one was injured. At least three explosions rocked the refinery at about 7:30 a.rrC, and the fire could have spread if crews had not quickly isolated the blaze and sprayed water on the refining unit's pressure vessels to keep them cool, said Bill Weaver', the plant's safety and health coordinator. "It was the trained people at the refinery who kept this from turning into a catastrophe," he said.

Refinery officials are sorting through the rubble of the alkyla-tion unit to determine what caused the explosions and fire, Johnson said. He said the fire actually erupted at the base of a vessel not associated with the unit itself but considered part of the complex referred to as the "alky" plant. The unit further refines crude oil to gasoline. "We are still in the process of trying to narrow down exactly what piece of equipment failed," Johnson said. There had been no major problems with the unit in the past, he added.

Several pumps and a lot of pipe will have to be replaced. Until officials determine exactly what material is needed to repair the unit, they won't know how costly the fire was, Johnson said. "It was a major incident," "he said. -I. coal.

Most of the Eastern coal is of each state will have a say," said president of Amax's Wyoming mining don't really see 1992 being a major in the Powder River Basin." of acid rain legislation doesn't January 1 995, Lien said. see some import changes and commitments Eastern utilities to buy Powder River Jim Herickhoff, president of the Coal mine. country's largest coal producer, Thunder produced about 3 1 million tons. Black Thunder mine produced 30.8 Co. produced 28.7 million tons last Co.

produce 27.1 million tons. Coal Rochelle mine produced tons of coal. Powder River also Antelope mine, which mined 9.8 million GILLETTE (AP) Campbell County produced more than 165 million tons of coal last year 10 million more than the year before and industry officials expect the total to be even higher this year. Those 165 million tons helped make Wyoming the country's top coal-producing state last year. Larry Barton of Carter Mining Co.

said preliminary figures from the U.S. Energy Information Administration show that Wyoming produced about 195 million tons of coal last year. In 1990, state produced 185 million tons, said Barton, an engineer, who logs the weekly coal statistics from the federal government. Campbell County mining company officials are projecting that the county could produce at least 1 68 million tons this year. 1 While Wyoming continues to lead the 26 coal-producing states, industry officials said they're waiting to see if changes to the federal Clean Air Act will boost demand for Campbell County's low-sulfur coal.

The changes require utilities to switch to low-sulfur coal or install scrubbers so they can continue to Congress," the Republican said. "But at the same time an important purchase is made, I think some checkerboard land that is surrounded by private land to which land managers themselves sometimes to do not even have access should be sold." Thomas made his remarks, along with Wyoming U.S. Sens. Malcolm Wallop and Alan Simpson, before the House Park and Public Lands subcommittee, of which Thomas is a member. Wallop, who submitted written testimony for the hearing, noted that President Bush's budget requests more than $306 million for federal land acquisitions and $83 million for state land acquisitions in 1993.

"It is simply unacceptable that our government, on the one hand, says the budget must be balanced, the deficit lowered, vital programs and benefits cut and yet, on the other hand, recommends huge sums of money for more land ac termined by the federal agency to be out of compliance with federal standards. Council members first defeated a motion to table the request by Public Works Director Glenn Sug-ano to create the position. They then defeated another motion to honor the request. Finally, council members directed Sugano to prepare a job description, to secure a letter from EPA explaining the need for the position, and to get job descriptions of similar positions from Casper and Cheyenne city governments. "We're trying to skinny by and (EPA is) fed up with us." Oblock said.

"They're ready to hammer us in some of the areas where we're deficient The reason for expediency is their tone of voice." City Attorney Vince Crow said that federal laws affecting sewage pre-treatment regulatory and reporting requirements have been amended since 1987. "We need someone with a biology, chemistry or engineering background," Crow said. "We're just not handling all the reports, or picking up on all the tests." Sugano said pre-treatment responsibilities are currently "split among three people," including himself. He admitted he does not burn high-sulfur high-sulfur. "The people Tom Lien, operations.

"I year of increase The first phase take effect until "I'd like to from Basin coal," said Thunder Basin IN 1991, the Basin Coal The company's millions of that. Amax Coal year. Carter Mining Powder River about 12.6 million manages North tons of coal. EPA forces Rock Springs to hire employee City must comply with sewage 'pre-treatment' rules Sexual assault reported in Rock Springs ROCK SPRINGS Rock Springs police officers are investigating a sexual assault which allegedly occurred in the early morning hours on Wednesday, according to RSPD Lt. Bob Gore.

Gore said the alleged attack was a "domestic-type situation" and "totally unrelated to two unsolved sexual assaults in the city last week. And, he said, "due to the nature of the incident" police are not releasing names of the accused or the alleged victim. Police have still not identified any suspects in the two earlier incidents, Gore said. Noble shutdown may mean Wyo layoffs OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) A sagging oil industry has forced Noble Drilling Corp. to shut down its local operations, which could mean 200 layoffs in Oklahoma and four other states including Wyoming, a company official says.

Two regional offices and an equipment yard, all in Oklahoma City, will be closed by the company, which had roots in Oklahoma since the 1920s and was based here until moving to Houston about three years ago, said senior vice president Byron Welliver. The offices directed land drilling operations for the Mid-Continent and Rocky Mountain regions. Welliver estimated fewer than 50 layoffs would come from Oklahoma, with the rest in Texas, Michigan, North Dakota and Wyoming. The offices oversaw 29 land drilling rigs, but only nine were working. It is possible that some employees could be offered jobs in the company's offshore and international operations, Welliver said Tuesday.

3 Hulett-area men face drug charges HULETT (AP) Three Hulett-area men have been arrested in connection with what authorities describe as a marijuana manufacturing operation. Authorities say they have seized about 65 marijuana By KATHARINE COLLINS Southwestern Wyoming bureau ROCK SPRINGS Changes in U.S. Environmental Protection Agency requirements for municipal sewage pre-treatment have forced the city of Rock Springs to create a new position, city officials told council members Tuesday night. Mayor Paul Oblock urged "expediency" on the matter, saying the "tone of voice" of EPA officials has convinced him the federal agency means business. Council member Lee Hughes, however, said he was not convinced that the need to "ride herd on government paperwork" justifies burdening taxpayers with a new $32,000 a year "pre-treatment coordinator" position.

Hughes cited a 1987 consultant report commissioned when the city launched its sewage pre-treatment program, and insisted there is "nothing in the report to indicate" the need for the proposed new position. The city was required by EPA in 1987 to institute a sewage pre-treatment program as a part of a "consent decree" when effluent or water discharged from the city sewage treatment plant was de "understand any of the regulations on the books" relating to pre-treatment of sewage. In an interview following the meeting, Sugano said EPA requirements of municipalities are becoming more and more "cumbersome." He added that the city is now required to sample discharges into the sewage system from about 200 businesses in Rock Springs such as oil field service centers, service stations, warehouses and restaurants that could potentially discharge heavy metals or toxic wastes into the sewage system. "We had flammable liquids go through the sewer system a few years ago," Sugano noted. "EPA uses that as a rationale for our needing a pre-treatment system." Sugano said othet communities in Wyoming, particularly those near oil field operations, will be faced with the need to add the new position in order to satisfy federal regulators.

The Rock Springs sewage treatment system discharges effluent into Bitter Creek which runs into the Green River during winter months. During the summer, the waste water is recycled yito a tertiary, sand-filtering treatment plant and piped from there to water the cemetery. plants and some processed marijuana. Arrested last Thursday were Richard Allen Burch, 46, Robert Wayne Albertus, 46, and Walter Swen Daknis, 37. The arrests followed an investigation by the North Eastern Wyoming Drug Enforcement Team, Crook and Campbell County Sheriffs Offices, and Moorcroft and Hulett police.

Campbell County Sheriffs Lieutenant Greg Bennick said the in vestigation began with a tip Jan. 10..