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Show PAGE 5 THE ZEPHYRMARCH 1995 Your Tax Dollars Promote Local River Company Last members of the Grand to Salt Lake City to meet with year County Council traveled Governor Mike Leavitt Among the issues discussed, the Coundl expressed concern about the appointment of Moab resident Sheri Griffith to the Utah State Travel Coundl Board. There was a question in some of their minds whether Ms. Griffith represented the best interests of Grand County. The governor replied that Ms. Griffith's job was to represent the best interests of the State of Utah, not Grand County. She stayed on the board. But a full page advertisement in the New Yorker magazine calls into question just whose best interests are being served. The $29,000 full odor ad runs on page 165 of the February 2027, 1995 issue and was paid for by the Utah Travel Council. The Coundl is funded through the General Fund; it does not rccrive Transient Room Tax revenues to finance its operation. So the ad, in effect, was funded by the taxpayers of the state of Utah. The same ad appears in a recent issue of Outside magazine Bighorn Attacks Tourist Almost 10 years ago, a drunken hunter in southern Arizona pumped round after round of buckshot into a nearby Saguaro cactus. The final shotgun blast cut the giant cactus in half; the Saguaro toppled over and landed squarely on its assailant, killing die man dead in his tracks. Edward Abbey called it the most significant environmental event of the decade. This winter a less violent but just as annoying human interloper felt the wrath of an aggravated desert bighorn ram when a tourist attempted a doseup photograph of the herd near Arches National Park. As the camera wielding visitor moved within several feet of the sheep, a ram leaped from a nearby rock and caught him squarely in the chest, sending him (to use the vernacular) Screaming in pain, the man attempted to escape his attacker when another ram hit him from behind. It was all the would-b- e photographer could do to hobble bade to his car and horrified family. A passing motorist, a BLM employee, witnessed the attack and offered to transport the injured man to the hospital, but the bruised and bludgeoned victim wanted only to leave the area. He was last seen headed north at a high rate of speed. Should Utah Travel Council board members feature themselves in national advertising campaigns? at an additional cost of S22OOOl Both publications reach a combined readership of about half a million. The ad is entitled, "Meet the real first ladies of Whitewater," and depicts Ms. Griffith and fellow river company operator Meg 1 latch along the banks of the Colorado River. In part, the text reads, "Meg Hatch and Sheri Griffith are two owners of professional river running companies in Utah. Over the years, they and other Utah guides and outfitters have put a lot of Whitewater behind them...They've transformed legendary rapids like Satan's Gut and Hell's Half Mile into natural playgrounds, perfecting the art Sheri calls 'soft adventure'.. .soft on risk, high on adventure." At the end of the ad, It also mentions that there are other outfitters "who can turn your next e number family vacation into a river of great memories," and provides an address and a for more information. The Travel Council ad is an extremely effective promo for Sheri Griffith and Meg Hatch. The problem is, they are both members of the State Travel Council Board. Is taking advantage of public monies to promote their own businesses a blatant and shameless conflict of interest? Dean Reeder, director of the Utah State Travel Council says no. He secs no conflict of interest at all. Even though both Hatch and Griffith sit on the board, "they're not directing us to spend matey on their behalf." When the advertisement was circulated among members of the river guide association before publication, Reeder says that "most of them think it's a fabulous way to feature their business." Reeder points to another ad that featured rancher and state legislator Brad Johnson in a similar Travel Council promo for a women's cattle drive. Reeder notes that, as a legislator, Johnson actually appropriates money for such promotions but still sees no conflict. Rep. Johnson is a rancher by trade and is not affected by tourism in the same way river companies might be. Lf you would like to express an opinion to Mr. Reeder, or if you would like to attempt to Or if you want to anange a full page publicly financed ad for your business, call go straight to the top. Governor Leavitt's number is toll-fre- The Delicate Arch "Swinging Bridge." Is it History? Arches National Park has developed a "rehab package' that would ultimately lead to the replacement of the swinging bridge on the IMicate Arch Trail. The bridge spans Salt Wash near Wolfe Ranch and was installed decades ago. Citing high maintenance costs and the fact that it restricts handicap access to a nearby rock art panel, the NrS is proposing a new $40,000 steel span structure that would be handicap accessible and cheap to maintain. The idea was originally proposed in the General Management Han approved a couple of years ago. While its true that the old swinging bridge requires maintenance from time to time, it has become a familiar landmark to the thousands of visitors who hike the trail each year, and besides, there simply arent that many swinging bridges left out there in America. They're like covered bridges. They are expensive to take care of but its nice to know that a few remain. The Park Service is in the "preserve & protect" business, the swinging bridge should be treated as a historical treasure. 57. North Main Moab? Utah' 84532 JEWELRY TURQUOISE DINOSAUR BONE SOUVENIRS JEWELRY REPAIRS POTTERY BY ANDREA WINTERS As for accessibility, with the completion of die paved Delicate Arch Viewpoint road in April the NTS an simply establish a handicap accessible trail beginning on the east side of the new Salt Wash vehicle bridge and save the taxpayers $40,000 in the process. Currently funds are not available for the project but the Park is ready to move on file project when the money is budgeted. The World News Round Uv is compiled by Jim Stiles. |