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Show Panguitch • Panguitch Lake • Hatch • Bryce • Tropic • Antimony • Henrieville • Cannonville • Escalante • Boulder • Duck Creek Thursday, August 13, 2009 • Issue # 228 $238,000 to Utah Producers to Rehabilitate Farmland Damaged Natural Disaster USDA Farm Service by these disasters,” said the disaster are not eligible Agency (FSA) Utah Farm Jones. “USDA has always for cost-share assistance. Program Specialist, Lori worked hand in hand with FSA county committees Jones, announced that farm- producers during disasters, determine land eligibilers and ranchers will receive and we will continue to do ity based on on-site inspecapproximately $238,000 in so throughout the recovery tions of damage, taking into account the type and extent Emergency Conservation process.” For land to be eligible, of damage. Program funds to repair A detailed list of counfarmland damaged by natu- the natural disaster must have created conservation ties and associated specific ral disasters that happened problems that, if untreated, disasters is on FSA’s webin 2008 and 2009. would: site at: http://www.fsa.usda. The money will be used to remove farmland debris; • impair or endanger the gov/Internet/FSA_File/ecpcounties3.pdf. restore fences; grade and land; The remainder of these shape land; repair conser- • materially affect the land’s productive capacity; funds will be allocated vation structures that were • represent unusual damage as additional requests are damaged by floods, tornathat, except for wind eroprocessed. For further indoes, hurricanes, storms and wildfires, and carry out sion, is not likely to recur in formation on eligibility requirements as well as appliemergency water conserva- the same area; and tion measures after severe • be so costly to repair that cations, producers may visit federal assistance is or will their FSA county office or drought. “We are committed to be required to return the online at http://disaster.fsa. helping farmers and ranch- land to productive agricul- usda.gov. ers restore farmland, fences tural use. All of the above condiand conservation measures devastated by disasters, tions must be met for land and to help stimulate the to be eligible. Conservation rural economies affected issues that existed before Garfield Memorial Hospital Receives Medicare/Medicaid Recertification Garfield Memorial Hospital (GMH) recently received its Medicare/Medicaid Recertification during a survey by the Department of Health, Division of Healthy Systems Improvement Bureaus Health Facility Licensing, Certification and Resident Assessment. The two-and-a-half day survey reviewed many aspects of nursing and physician care, pharmacy, x-ray and other aspects of the hospital. The hospital received no deficiencies as a result of this survey in the medical care provided to the community. The hospital also received a life safety inspection of the facility. “We’re very pleased with the results of the survey,” said Alberto Vasquez, GMH administrator. “This recertification is only possible because of the excellent staff we have here at the hospital.” The results of the survey have been reported to the Garfield Memorial Hospital Board of Trustees, and a complete report is available for review. “The Board of Trustees would like to express its appreciation to the staff at Garfield Memorial Hospital for the positive results of the survey,” Vasquez said. “The state surveyors were very complementary of the excellent service provided by all the departments involved in this survey.” weather thursday ISOLATED T-STORMS high: 81 low: 50 friday ISOLATED T-STORMS high: 78 low: 47 saturday ISOLATED T-STORMS high: 78 low: 47 sunday Mostly Sunny high: 77 low: 46 monday Mostly Sunny high: 80 low: 46 tuesday Mostly Sunny Sunny high: 80 low: 48 wednesday Sunny high: 81 low: 48 Escalante Canyons Art Festival Escalante Canyons Art Festival, in its sixth year in Escalante,UT on September 25-26, presents a Plein Air Painting competition, display and silent auction which concludes with a Gala and Awards. Also featured are Vendors, Speakers, Entertainment, Workshops/Demonstrations, Food and Fun in scenic southern Utah’s rural atmosphere. A special attraction this year will be a Speakers’ Forum of knowledgeable experts discussing the history and recent discoveries concerning The Mystery of Everett Ruess on Friday morning at the Festival Venue, Escalante’s City Center. Local exotic wood furniture sculptor David Delthony is the 2009 Featured Artist and keynote Speakers for Friday evening are Donna Poulton and Vern Swanson, authors of Paintings of Utah’s Canyons and Deserts. Artist and Vendor applications, as well as more specific information, are available on line at www. escalantecanyonsartfestival.org Early reservations for accommodations are suggested to all who decide to enjoy the Fall beauty and festivities amidst the canyons and mountains of The Grand-Staircase Escalante National Monument and Dixie National Forest in the Heart of Utah’s All-American Scenic Byway 12. ANOTHER HUGE MARIJUANA FARM BUST IN GARFIELD COUNTY Several law enforcement agencies, including the Garfield County Sheriff’s Office, raided a large marijuana farm growing on the east fork of Boulder Creek last Thursday. The farm was found by a female hiker about three weeks ago. The hiker, from Boulder, was one of a group of people who coincidentally had received training from Garfield County Sheriff Deputy Ray Gardner a month ago about what exactly to do when one might accidentally encounter a marijuana farm. This hiker followed the protocol she had learned, and was able to report the marijuana farm to authorities. The farm was located again by law enforcement yesterday, and the raid planned for this morning. ment of Public Safety West Jordan JSOG team, the Iron/Garfield County Narcotics Task Force, the Forest Service, the DEA, along with the Garfield County Sheriff’s Office. The teams uprooted approximately 4,500 marijuana plants, along with plastic irrigation pipes, and numer- ficking and child pornography just to mention a few. And that’s only one side of it, those would want to protect our environment and natural resources need only to see these types of farms to know that they are very much destroying the environment. They are putting harsh chemical fertilizers ous large piles of refuse and debris the marijuana growers had left. The piles were flown out by the UHP helicopter to a nearby road with dump trucks, and it is all currently being burned. The Tropic Fire and Res- The Utah Department of Public Safety Tactical Investigation SERT (Special Emergency Response Team) Team led the raid at approximately 6 a.m. this morning, locating two male Hispanic suspects, one in a makeshift tent, one using the bathroom a short distance away. The team ordered the two to stand still, but they did not draw a weapon against the team and ran away. They were able to escape and are still at large. Also aiding in the raid was the Utah Depart- cue crew were on hand to help unload the piles and burn them. The estimated street value of the marijuana plants is at least several million dollars. Garfield County Sheriff Danny Perkins says how important it is to stop these illegal marijuana farms: “I have heard the arguments that people have said, where they feel these farms should just be left alone; that they harm no-one. However, these farms are being grown by the Mexican mafia, and the money they raise from it funds their other various illegal and dangerous interests including other types of illegal drugs, child traf- everywhere, they are leaving every kind of trash, they shoot any wildlife they want, they could care less about any kind of rules or protection. It is imperative that these illegal farms are rooted completely out, and I intend to see that every single one is out of Garfield County.” Lieutenant Chris Simmons of the UPS Tactical Investigation SERT Team, who led the raid, said: “We want to thank all of the members of this m o r n i n g ’s raid for their hard work. They have done such a fine job, and we appreciate their dedication to eradicating these illegal marijuana farms. We know how important it is that these farms are stopped; they threaten any area they are in. We want to thank everyone for their hard work today in getting this farm removed.” Lieutenant Alex Lepley of the DPS SERT team said: “People don’t realize what these marijuana growers do to the environment. There are chemicals and trash and damage everywhere. They have absolutely no respect for the law or, for that matter, anyone’s safety. “ Miner’s Auto Repair Complete Auto Service & Repair People demand freedom of speech as a compensation for the freedom of thought which they seldom use. Soren Kierkegaard Phone: 435-676-2621 Fax 435-836-2700 PO BOX 472, Loa, Utah 84747 snapshot@scinternet.net 475 East Center St. • Panguitch, Utah 435-676-8994 THE GARFIELD COUNTY INSIDER is owned and operated by Snapshot Multimedia and is distributed weekly to all of Garfield County. Its purpose is to inform residents about local issues and events. Articles submitted from independent writers are not necessarily the opinion of Snapshot Multimedia. We sincerely hope you enjoy the paper and encourage input on ideas and/or suggestions for the paper. Thank you for your support. ALL content for THE GARFIELD COUNTY INSIDER must be submitted on FRIDAY before 5:00 pm to be included in the following Thursday edition of the paper. 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