130 leave from Utah for 3-week mission to Haiti

SALT

LAKE CITY — Haiti needs doctors, nurses, construction-and-demolition

experts, medical equipment and supplies, interpreters, heavy equipment

and tools desperately. But serious weight limitations forced the Utah

Hospital Task Force to prioritize before 130 people took off on a

chartered 737 for the island nation Thursday afternoon.

In

a situation akin to choosing between water and air, they put medical

help at the top of the list, followed by interpreters and then the

building-and-destroying folks.

The

paring-down process started Wednesday night, and by severely limiting

baggage and equipment, the recently formed humanitarian task force only

had to leave behind 20 people instead of 50. But even close to takeoff

time, they were juggling. \"We would have been forced to cut more,\" said

John Nichols, an organizer, \"except we got serious about what we need

and what we don't have to have.\"

The

group is slated to arrive in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, about 11 p.m.

Thursday, barring holdups in Florida, and will camp at the airport.

Volunteers were told to be prepared to hike to various locations where

they're needed, said Ken Potter of Alpine, who with son Sam is on the

construction team.

As a couple

hundred people milled around; packed and repacked bags; lined up for

prepackaged meals, a blanket and other supplies; and said goodbye at