CST New Mexico: Las Vegas Daily Optic 1986 Article (Web Debut)
informer...@hotmail.com
Las Vegas (New Mexico) Daily Optic
September 30, 1986
by Helen Muller
(This was the first article of its
type, anywhere, on the CST vaults.
The reporters involved, stated
later they were harassed by COS).
A 300-foot horizontal tunnel is being
drilled into a mountain east of Las Vegas
to house church documents. The Los
Angeles-based Church of Spiritual
Technology, which is affiliated with the
Church of Scientology, has been working
on the project for two years.
On a remote, 3,600 acre ranch near
Trementina, 14-17 men are preparing the
site for a tunneling machine, said CST
ranch manager Russ Bellin. Although
about a dozen of the workers have been
hired locally, the construction is under
the direction of a Denver contractor.
Bellin said the Church of Spiritual
Technology was founded in 1982 and
acquired a year later. "We were looking
for a place that is remote, pollution free,
some distances from any nuclear targets,
and with a dry climate," he said. "We
researched a number of places before we
found this one."
Goals of the CST include "construction
and maintenance of an imperishable
structure, capable of withstanding the
ravages of nuclear warfare to house
the essence of Scientology for the
benefit of future generations," state its
bylaws.
The Church of Scientology claims six
million members and 600 churches in
more than 30 countries.
The tunnel will be approximately 14 feet
high by 10 feet wide, said Bellin. "In the
tunneling business, this is considered a
small project." The sandstone tunnel,
which is halfway up a mountain, will be
ventilated and lined with concrete.
"This should keep the documents
(mostly paper) at a constant 63 degrees
with low humidity -- perfect for the
preservation of paper," he noted.
Bellin said the project is patterned after
a huge vault tunnelled in granite in
Utah by the Mormons to preserve the
church's geneology lists and microfilm.
"This will not be open as a working
library," he added, "nor will it be sealed."
Periodically we will add documents to
the collection.
He praised their neighbors in the area
for letting the project continue with
privacy, yet helping when needed.
"We've had a lot of trouble with our
roads this summer because of all the
rain. The other day, one of our trucks
got stuck in a muddy arroyo and some
neighbors helped pull it out."
Most of their supplies have been
purchased in Las Vegas, such as fuel
for their generator, groceries, and
construction supplies, he said.
The church currently has no plans for
further development of the property.
When the construction is finished,
two people will live at the ranch to take
care of it. "There are no plans to build
a church on the property," said Bellin.
The office of Secretary of State of
California said the Church of Spiritual
Technology was registered as a non-
profit corporation in May 1982, and
continues to be in good standing.
An Environmental Improvement
Division onsite visit in May found
little that EID would appropriately
deal with, said environmentalist
Anita Roy. "There seemed to be no
water course contamination, and
there were no hazardous materials
on the site," she said.
Work on the site began in Feruary 1985.
Although it was discontinued during
the winter, it recommenced this spring.
Workers have been living in tents on
the ranch. As the cold weather
approaches, several small trailers have
been added. "Building roads has
consumed a lot of our efforts," said Bellin.
Because of the heavy equipment being
used, air emergency evacuation
arrangements have been made with the
University of New Mexico hospital in
Albuquerque, which can be reached
in 35 minutes. Four pigs roam freely
to discourage rattlesnakes. "We have
seen at least 50 rattlers this year,"
said Bellin, "but with the cooler
weather, they have not been as
prevalent."
cultxpt
>
> BTW: They've also got an old mine in east-central California that
> reputed to be their storage bunker for blackmail material.
>
> In <1104450664.9...@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com>,
> informer...@hotmail.com wrote:
>
> >"Church Building Archive Depository"
> >Las Vegas (New Mexico) Daily Optic
> >September 30, 1986
> >by Helen Muller
> >
> ...
> >A 300-foot horizontal tunnel is being
> >drilled into a mountain east of Las Vegas
> >to house church documents. The Los
> >Angeles-based Church of Spiritual
> >Technology, which is affiliated with the
> >Church of Scientology, has been working
> >on the project for two years.
> >
> ...
> >The tunnel will be approximately 14 feet
> >high by 10 feet wide, said Bellin. "In the
> >tunneling business, this is considered a
> >small project." The sandstone tunnel,
> >which is halfway up a mountain, will be
> >ventilated and lined with concrete.
> >"This should keep the documents
> >(mostly paper) at a constant 63 degrees
> >with low humidity -- perfect for the
> >preservation of paper," he noted.
>
>
> In message <1104450506.8...@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com>
about
> the Petrolia tunnel:
>
> ...
> Mammoth Dimensions
>
> In essence, the vast project involved
> scraping away the top of the a remote
> hill. A ponderous concrete base, 4 feet
> thick, 20 feet wide and 373 feet long,
> was laid in a trench.
>
> Then, the cylindrical vault was assembled
> from great, interlocking steel panels.
> A second floor was installed down the
> center of the great tube.
>
> Once the vault was fully assembled, it
> was encased in several inches of
> concrete, then covered over with 14 feet
> of gravel and dirt. All that's visible is the
> one exposed end and the ventilation
> building equipped with fans that push
> air down into the crypt.
> ...
>
>
> In message <1104450566.1...@c13g2000cwb.googlegroups.com>,
> about the Crestline tunnels:
>
> ...
> At the Crestline property, two side-by-side
> underground storage vaults, elliptical and covered
> with corrugated steel, have been built in the hillside.
>
> The vaults, connected by metal corridors, are 23
> feet wide by 104 feet long. The interior of the vaults,
> lined with insulated foam and squared-off concrete
> walls, enclose an area 17 feet wide.
>
> The storage areas are climate-controlled and
> ventilated to preserve the documents, said Dick
> Pretzinger of MMP & Associates Inc., the Cedar
> Glen -based engineering company that developed
> the site plan.
>
> The elliptical shape of the vaults was designed for
> strength, Pretzinger said. He estimated they were
> buried about five feet below the surface.
> ...
Lady Chatterly
root@127.1 wrote:
>
>>>>>>>>>>For an organization that carps relentlessly about things being "100%
>>>>>>>>>>standard", there sure is a lot of variation in the construction of their
>>>>>>>>>>"archival tunnels".
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>Has any government organization looked at these recently to verify
>>>>>>>>>>they're not being used to make bio-chem warfare weapons?
They are not you do right.
--
Lady Chatterly
"Supposedly..she is a 'bot." -- Gunner