Casper Star-Tribune from Casper, Wyoming • 18

GasXT Star 1 flu nie Friday, October 1999 6 Bmck Thunder coal mine Conservation group challenges blasting regs Maps expand known Wyo kimberlite field Casper geologist has filed claims in area i Bv JEFF TOI I FFSON Sl.ir rnhniif st. iff wnfrr Ml IH IK The state chief environmental regulator was reminded Thursday that he has the legal and resrnmsihiliry, to manage coalmine blasting "to )rfvTif human injury Showing jk turfs of orange clouds and telling stories of nitrogen oxide gases drifting off mine sites and engulfing homes, the powder River 'We probably found 70 percent more kimberlite than we had known DAN HALSFJ, WTOMINC C.FOI CXilCAl SI RVEY j- riTi 1 of appealing to the Environmental Quality Council. For its part, the Thunder Basin Coal said it has the exact same objectives as the Resource Council: reducing the NOx emissions and protecting people. "It is also our goal to pro tect the health and safety of our employees and the public," said Wendy Hutchinson, the company's regulatory affairs manager and member of the Environmental Quality Council. Hutchinson said the company has traditionally worked to ensure the safety of its employees, assuming that if the on-site employees are safe, so would be the more distant public.

The company proposed the revisions after receiving complaints earlier this year regarding the NOx clouds, which are caused by incomplete combustion of the often multi-million-pound explosives. But the Resource Council argued that the revisions don't go far enough to make the Please see REGS, B2 COURTESY Resourc Council and several landowners told regu- lators here that current blast i ing practices are not protec- live of neoole who live, work By CANDY MOLLTON Star-Trilnwe awresfxtnekmt ENCAMPMENT Kimberlite, the type of rock known to contain diamonds, is prevalent throughout a 20-square mile region near Iron Mountain northwest of Cheyenne in what is believed to be the second-largest kimberlite complex in the United States. Already one Casper geologist has filed mining claims in a portion of the area, and mineral companies from throughout the United States and Canada are expected to attend a conference next week at the University of Wyoming that will outline the location of known kimberlite deposits, said W. Dan Hausel of the Wyoming Geological Survey. Recent extensive mapping by the Wyoming State Geological Survey (WSGS) has significantly enlarged the known extent of kimberlite occurrences in the Iron Mountain district, 35 miles north-northwest of Cheyenne.

The Iron Mountain deposit is spread over 20 square miles, involving both state and private Nitrogen oxide clouds float away from a Powder River Basin coal mine recently. land, as well as federal mineral holdings. The largest such field in the country. Hausel said, is located just 50 miles to the south-southwest along the Colorado-Wyoming border. Diamond mining operations that had been under way there are currently suspended as the Canadian company holding the mineral leases is In negotiations to sell its operation to McKenzie Bay, a company that operates both in Canada and the United States, Hausel said.

Kimberlite, named after the lamous diamond region in Kim-berly. South Africa, is only one of two rock types that has been Please see MINING, B2 and play near mines in northeast Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality Director Dennis llernrner held an "informal conference" regarding the Resource Council's protest of proposed revisions to the blasting guidelines at ('lack Thunder, owned bv Arch Coal subsidiary Thunder fiasin Coal Co "That is one of your responsibilities as director, to take care of the people outside (the permitted blasting area Morrison told Hemmer. Telling stories of people ing hospitalized and in one case dying after exposure to nitrogen oxide (NOx), she called on him to limit the times and conditions when blasting can occur as well as to expand public notification procedures to all local newspapers and residents and businesses. "Blasting has to be conducted to prevent injury," she said later. "That doesn't mean we wait until somebody is laying in the hospital." The conference served as a forum to hear from both parties, Hemmer made no comments.

He will issue a decision later, at which time the Resource Council has the option Engrossed CY principal among award recipients 0 II 1 I'y llw st.ifl CASPER CY Junior High Principal Dean P.raughlon Is one of four Wyoming educators to receive the I'l'l'i Milken Family Foundation National Educator Award, and the an oinpanving financial award ol L'5 State Superintendent ol Public In structiou Judv Cat( hpole announced Wednesday. Braiighlon was ompliuieut-ed lor his work on transforming CY Junior High inlo a middle school, eiK ouiagiug innovative teachers and teaching methods and creating a positive environment for students and stall alike. Recipients are selected by an Independent committee appointed by the state Department ol Education. A news release indicated that Wyoming is one ol II slates to take part in the national award. The release cited several criteria for the award, including talent; distinguished achievement in developing Innovative curricula, programs and teaching Please see AWARDS, B2 Habitat for Humanity welcomes applications CASPER Habitat lor Humanity, an org.

iim, il inn pro moling home ownership among low-income families, will host an application meeting at 7 p.m. Oct. 11 at Highland Park Community Church at Second Street and Walsh Drive. Child care will be provided. Three selection criteria are used to select eligible families: Need for adequate shelter; ability to afford a Habitat built home, but inability to quality lor other home-ownership options; and willingness to cooperate efficiently with the organization, including putting in "sweat equity" by helping to build the house.

Applications will be available at the meeting; completed applications must le accompanied by $5 for a credit review. Questions may be directed to the Habitat office in Casper, 234-1348. KERRY HULLERStar-Trlbuna Garfield School's librarian, lla Kaiser, reads a 'Clifford' book to Janice Cowell's kindergarten class on Thursday morning. Parents of Garfield students hosted a meeting Thursday evening in the school's gymnasium with Natrona County School District Superintendent Stan Olson to discuss the status of small schools in the county. Enzi, Thomas oppose test-ban treaty Casper teen dies in fall By BARNEY McMANICAL Stntt's News Strvhv with stuff rqxirts WASHINGTON Wyoming's Republican Sens.

Craig Thomas and Mike Enzi are both opponents of the nuclear test ban treaty, with Thomas standing alongside his foreign Affairs Committee colleague, Chairman Jesse Helms, and other test-ban loes who argue the treaty would be flouted by rogue powers Thomas said he plans to vote against President Clinton's attempt to ban nuclear testing worldwide because the measure could threaten national security. Thomas said the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty, authored by President Clinton in to ban nations that signed the agreement from testing their nuclear arse nals, was dangerous to national security for two reasons. Experts say the nation needs to test its nuclear capability in order to preserve its strength, Thomas said following the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on the issue. "The other (reason) is the lack of the ability to verify if others are doing that." The treaty, which has already been ratified by 45 nations including Great Britain and France, would outlaw testing of all nuclear weapons as well as any action to encourage nuclear explosions worldwide. The measure would also establish a new organization based in Vienna, Austria, to oversee the ban.

Thomas spokesman Dan Kunsman said Thursday that Thomas' staff had been the focus of some lobbying attention that morning when an erroneous "whip count" show apparently had been drinking with a group of about five friends who live in apartments upstairs in the building, Thorpen said. No one else in the group was injured, he said. The teen died of massive head injuries when he landed on a concrete ledge in the outdoor eating area between Sanford's, which is located in the building's first floor, and the municipal parking garage next door, Thorpen said. A medical blood test indicated that Wirth had been consuming alcohol, but Thorpen said he is waiting for final lab results before he can determine the victim's blood-alcohol level. By TOM MORTON Star-Tribune staff writer CASPER A Casper teen fell to his death early Thursday from the roof of a building on Center Street, according to Casper Police and the county coroner.

Aaron Lee Wirth, 18, fell approximately 30 feet from the roof of the building at approximately 2 a.m. Thursday at 243 S. Center said Sgt. Mike Moore and Coroner Dr. James Thorpen.

Foul play was not involved and Thorpen ruled the incident an accident. Wirth. a former honors student at Roosevelt High School, ing Thomas as a swing vote on the treaty was apparently circulating. "He is a firm no," Kunsman said callers were told. Although passage is unlikely, the Senate is scheduled to vote on the ban as early as next week.

But the Clinton administration called the ban "fundamental" to the national security interest of the U.S. "It will rein in nuclear weapons development by states that want the bomb, and dampen the development of more advanced weapons by current members of the nuclear club." said Energy Secretary Bill Richardson, in testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee. Richardson touted the success of the country's Stockpile Stewardship Program -Please see TREATY, B2 Californians ask for IRS probe into Mormon fund raising By JORDAN I.ITT apologies for urging its members to support the March 21MX) ballot measure, which would prevent the state from recognizing gay marriages performed outside California. Outraged by what they see as an abuse of the church's tax-exempt status. San Francisco supervisors this week asked the IRS to investigate whether the Mormons are breaking federal law prohibiting them from cer tain political activities.

IRS rules prohibit religious organizations from engaging in "substantial" political activity without endangering their tax-exempt status a requirement that recently forced the Christian Coalition to split into two. "We need to have a fair and honest debate." Supervisor Mark Leno said. "We can't do that if large sums of tax deductible dollars have involved themselves in a political campaign and completely overrun the entire ballot process." "Nonsense," Michael Otter-son, a spokesman for the Mormon church, said Wednesday. The Mormons aren't the only religious group supporting the initiative, and the tax laws apply equally to all of them, Otterson said. "We're not going to have this diverted into an LDS issue," he said, and declined further riage licenses to heterosexual couples.

The church mounted similar campaigns last year in Hawaii and Alaska that helped pass measures banning gays and lesbians from marrying there. In Hawaii, the money funded a bombardment of TV ads that "preyed on the most insidious emotions." said David Smith, who oversaw the failed campaign to defeat the measure. comment. The IRS can't comment on whether the agency agreed to investigate the Mormon church, said Larry Wright, an agency spokesman in Oakland. Many religious conservatives fear that if gay marriages are allowed in one state, others would have to recognize their validity.

Twenty-nine states have banned gay marriage. By law, California only issues mar ssix iaht Press SAN FRANCISCO Some politicians here are trying to get the Mormon church into tax trouble over a fund raising drive that has helped give a 11 cash advantage to a ballot initiative prohibiting gay marriage in California. The Church of Jesus Christ ol Latter -day Saints makes no For information, questions and comments about this page, call the news desk (307) 2fifUTS2 or (SM0) 442-6916; email newsgtrib.com; fax (307) 260568. I.