Show 'GL&rnrm-- iv Serving Utah's Great Pahvant Valley Single Copy $75 USPS 349 - 520 Drought Effects more than just agriculture August 2002 report by Millard Count y Emergency Management for those areas now appear depleted with part of the growing season re- The most isible effects of the current drought in Millard County appear to be specifically agricultural Agriculture is however still one of the mam economic forces in Millard County The Utah Department of Agriculture 2000 Annual Report indicates that historically in this state Millard County the is the largest producer of alfalfa third largest producer of cattle and the third or fourth largest producer of grains In addition to the cumulate e effect of the last several years drought National Weather Serv ice statistics show just during the three months of this year daily temperatures have been to 5 degrees hotter than a 50 year average The same statistics show precipitation in Millard County during the same three month period at 19 to 25 percent of normal Irrigation Water The four largest rigation companies serving the west portion of the County Delta Meh die Abraham and Deseret are delivering approximately 80 percent of their thirty year average per share This has driven up the price of rented water for those farmers that do not own enough water stock as much as 200 percent in the last year The remaining irrigation companies in Millard County do not appear to have sufficient storage capabilities to Alweather this ongoing drought though no firm statistics arc av ailablc for those water systems servicing farms in Fillmore Meadow Kanosh Oak City and possibly Lynndyl Leamington and other farming areas most of the limited storage supplies maining Culinary Water Oak City has seen the level of a city owned culmaty well diop below the serv iccable area and has instituted significant conservation measures The May or adv ises that the well water level is approximately feet below the usual lev el There are other minor sources of w ater av such as mountain springs however it is not known if these will provide enough water to keep the system operational Some of the other public culinary sy stems in M illard County are promoting and practicing conserv ation measures as a preventative measure but are not vet experiencing major system failure or losses L’sual grazing areas Agriculture such as BLM and Forest Service ground have had permits restricted as much as 50 percent Even during those restricted allowed grazing periods w for livestock had to be transported to the grazing areas as the usual springs and other sources are dry Due at least in part to the current drought feed costs are also up from the last sevetal years Although no firm statistics are available for livestock losses or forced sales the available auction and sale facilities within usual transport distance of Millaul County report as high as 4 times the usual number of cattle for sale at this time of year 'Many producers are reducing their herds in an attempt to weather this drought period These numbers include other by livestock producers besides those in Millard County Although no firm statistics are from the av ailable as yet information County Extension Service indicate that an unusual amount of grain is being green harvested rather than matured to save on irrigation costs The USDA Farm Service Agency reports that out of 430 farms tracked in Millard County 325 will suffer at least a 30 percent production loss this year w ith some as high as 70 percent due to drought conditions These losses are caused by a combination of lower yields and fewer acres fanned because of lack of water Fire Fortunately less than 30 wildfires have occurred in Millard County this fire season involving less than 500 acres total As is the case with the rest of the state the fire danger is extreme due to the continuing drought For those communities or residential areas interfacing w ith w lid lands there is the additional danger of the water shortages from public systems interfering w ith fire suppression Further information can be obtained by calling Sheriff Ed Phillips at or writing to Star Route Box 50 765 South Highway 99 Fillmore Utah 84531 Sources for this report are USDA Farm Service Agency Damage Assessment Report Utah Dept of Agriculture 2000 Utah Agriculture Statistics Utah State University Extension National Weather Service Service Utah Climate Center Web Page MC Fire Marshall Howard Allred H cx$h vizHl’ts Lstukif as excellent participation because of her efforts We also had some exhibits from Ciamson this year" Moms said Attendance at the Fair is hard to measure since there is no admittance fee Moms said about 400 chairs are set around the stage and sometimes they are filled Other times they are not Moms said she originally thought holding the Days of the Old West with the Fair Rodeo in conjunction would be of benefit However since the rodeo moved to June a couple of years ago she has not seen where it helped or hurt attendance “Most of the people attending the rodeo have a different lifestyle so hav ing it was not a major draw" she said “Die same is true of the Business Trade Show" for evening ('housing for fair is a challenge entertainment directors "It is impossible to second guess audiences Whenever we have the hypnotist the house is packed This yeai Timothy Riggs a magician also packed the house Some entertainment I have brought in was wonderful but attendance was extremely low usually chose the entertainers based on county residents’ recommendations" Moms said The tractor pull and air show went extremely well and Morns expects both events will continue to attract large crowds Contest participation w as dow n kids’ contests w ere up and demonstrations were up during the event Aug “The director’s job is the easiest at the fair as long as there are good people to work with I have been blessed with a great board and many of the members hav e been w uh me a w 2002 Knox Huntsman The Sixth Annual Old Capitol Arts and Living History Festival will start on Friday September 6 2002 in Fillmore On Friday the Utah Western Heritage Foundation (UW11F) Wagon Train will pull into Fillmore and join the festival making it one of Fillmore’s biggest and best Both organizations put on an annual festival but this is the first time the two have combined into one big promotion The festival will focus on living aits history and heritage and horsemanship The living arts w ill provide artist crafts photo exhibits quick draw performances and demonstrations The history and heritage will provide home tours historic exhibits Civil War Camp historic autos Native American Pow Wow mountain men camp cowboy poetry western music wagon train parade cattle driv c and a wagon taxi ’Die horsemanship will provide ruling club competition and parade little buckaroo rodeo ranch rodeo craft booths demonstrations and horse and ranch vendors he arts festival and food concessions will be located in the center ol town on Main Street and the heritage festival will be located west of city central m the rodeo area Iliere w ill be concerts in the Millard High School auditorium and the Boy Scouts will provide a western dinner on Friday evening between the hours ot 5 00 and KtXlpm illmore Mayor Sam Stailey said the event could bring in up to 5000 people he wagon train originates on August 24 in Kanah Utah and departs at 10 00 a m with a grand puude through to Johnson Canyon Ranch During their 15 dav imiiney the wagon train stays overnight at Beaver various ranches Panquitch Cove ort on August and Sept Kanosh on Sept 2( lear ake Delta on Sept 4 Holden Sept 5 arriving in illmore Sept 6 lie wagon tram will have wranglers outriders wagon drivers and horseback riders diivmg an Ml head remuda ol horses 20 historic wagons and 00 head ol longhorn steers Die III- is looking tor cowbovsto join in on the wagon tram in Kunab and make the ride to illmore Interested downtown Mil peoplecaruall HWot visit MU "OS "22 nr nunc website details at www utuhwestemlientjgi Inundation ore he Rising property values are raising taxes by Knox Huntsman Every year County Assessor Jim Talbot assesses the value of one filth of the property in Millard County Talbot said “by Utah State law I am quired to establish a fair market value for all property in the county There 6000 taxable propare approximately erties in the county and physically look at about 3400 of these structures every year" The property tax on a home is determined by multiplying the property value times the tax rate The market value is the price your property would sell for if it were offered for a reasonable amount of time This assumes that both the buyer and seller are unrelated and under no pressure to buy or sell the property To establish the market value Talbot gathers data on the sale of houses and property within the county The taxable value is used to calculate taxes due on your property A primary residence both land and building receives a 45 percent reduction from market value or all other classes of property the taxable value is the same as the market alue The tax rates are determined by the county commissioners for the county city council's for cities school districts special districts and any other taxing entity Talbot said "some residents may be disconcerted by the increase in taxes this year his sudden rise is probably due to their house not been assessed for five years and has gone through several years of appreciation However the property has gone through several years of being assessed at below market value " "Even though the housing market is slow homes are still maintaining their value am surprised that they are high today as they w ere tw o ears In essence the public sets the ago value of housing by the amount they are w tiling to purchase and sell for Some of the Ijctors lor rising housing values are that the cost ol building material tor new constiuction has gone up and the increase in new obs within the counts is putting pressure on the limited amount ol 1 albot indicated the data he collects is within Millard ’ounty and is not influence by other counties such as al Juab Beaver I tah or Sail I ake hot said mistakes can be made and he encourages home owners who do not agree with the newly assessed property value to contact the Board ol qualizalion (or a rev iew ol the property value albot indicated the taxes will rise ui property because ol iik leases in the ci and counts lire district school district tax rates he lamest tax increase is horn the school district with an approximate me lease ol 28 a reducpercent which wascausedbv tion of tunds from the slate by Knox Huntsman Great Lakes Cheese packaged their first cheese on Aug 27 2001 and on Aug 24 2002 they celebrated their first year of operation w ith a picnic at Fillmore’s North Park The celebration committee Ethel Bullock Eva Wilden and Teme Fur- - number of years Some are also retiring this year others will remain" Morris said Moms has enjoyed the people the beautiful exhibits and the local talent She has also worked with different throughout county commissioners the years and all have proven supports e of the fair Delta Egg Farm donated a new system for this year’s fair and Moms said it was absolutely wonderful even though it almost froze out several in attendance “I’m going to learn to crochet" Moms said with a chuckle “When one window closes another opens I plan to just keep having fun and en" joy the grand kids left at home Moms will celebrate 47 years of mamage Aug 24 to Don Moms They are the parents of Kevin Moms and Jody Valeno and hav e eight grandchildren and one & Pink Pond row made sure there was an abundance of good food and cold drinks baseball lawn games and the picnic ended with the children breaking a pmata pros iding candy for the 70 children Plant Manager John Hart said half of the plant’s employees and families enjoyed the afternoon Hart said through out the year the plant was continually raising the cheese packaging output “Dus was due to increasing the stall efficiency In the and the number ol emplovees past six months we have doubled the production" said Hart "Die plant currently lias Ox employees and plans to have about 12'' the by the end ol September 2n2 endol the year there could be 40 employees at the plant It is gr jtilv mg to watch the plant grow w ithin the com nninitv" said lart response After the article you ran last week on the pink pond I have checked into it further as to why tt is pink and have found out that it is created by a salt lov- ing bacteria called “Halobacterium" have cluded a web page that has more pictures of other "Pink Ponds Lakes" and more information about the bacteria that creates the pink ponds Hope this helps http:wwwdesertusa com' mag98aprilowens owenslake html Michael Pace I SC Extension Phone: Agent Pelicans by the hundreds briefly wowed everyone m the vicinity of Gunnison Bend Reservoir this week as they majesticly circled and surveyed the water Residents say this is the largest flock they have seen at one time Apparently the word has spread at what a great place Millard County is to relax and rejuvmate on their way to winter quarters Living History Festival End of Summer Celebration! 10 am until dark Fillmore Territorial Statehouse Park Great Fun for Everyone! & 29 Great Lakes Cheese celebrates first year of operation Old Capitol Arts Friday August Fillmore’s Old Capitol Arts Festival will be joined by Wagon Train County Fair director resigns other By Kathy It was a very good year at the Millard C ounty Fair but Cherie Morris fair director has decided it is time to resign and let someone else take the reins “The Fair has not grow n during the last two years and think it is time for new blood’ Moms said "The County Commission will probably appoint a new director sometime after the first of the year have made some recommendations but a choice has not been made “ Morris served as director for 12 years Prior to that she served four years as fair secretary and three ears over the Home Arts division When she first began working with the county fair it was held in Deseret and then rotated yearly between Delta and Fillmore She said the fair has since grown and acquired wonderful facilities “We have one of the best and largest county fairs in the state Die I tah County Fair can't beat us but Weber County will" Moms said Exhibits at the Millard County Fair require judges from two counties Most fairs usually require judges from one The fair is also one of very few that still pays premium money along with awarding ribbons Blue ribbon winners are paid $250 and red ribbon receipts are given $1 Moms said no more than a half dozen w hite ribbons are aw arded during the fair "County fairs are for county residents I would like to see more county-ide participation" Moms said “We have fair board members from both sides of the county bringing in local entertainment and it works well Connie Christensen from Fillmore brought many exhibits ov er and there Voi 92 No 8 Saturday September 6 &7 |