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Show Page 7 JULY 6,2006 THE GARFIELD COUNTY INSIDER ALL ABOARD! Our Brace Caboose is now making life easier for our patients in outlying communities: Beaver, Bicknell, Circleville, Delta, Ephraim, Fillmore, Gunnison, Manti, Milford, Junction, Monroe and Salina. On days we're in the mobile office, our office phone is forwarded to us, so we can still be reached. 1-888-BRACEME 150 E 200 N • Richfield, UT SR-12 ESCALANTE TO BOULDER PROJECT UPDATE The SR-12 Project will include planning, environmental, and engineering studies for safety improvements within a 28-mile section of SR-12 (milepost 60 to milepost 88) in Garfield County, Utah. This project will include a focused co.ordination effort with stakeholders, the development and screening of a range of safety alternatives, and the development of an environmental document in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act(NEPA). The environmental study will take into consideration prior studies, existing and future conditions, stakeholder and agency input, and the environmental context to determine the environmental impacts of proposed alternatives. Phase I of the project, which took place between August 2004 and April 2006, is now complete. Phase II has begun with a new approach to improving the safety and maintenance operations along the SR-12 corridor. One of the issues identified during Phase I is that currently there is not'adequate, right-of-way for trie Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) crews to-perform-appropriate. m,aintepanc,e acMvitjes,.frp,m Head-of-ithe-Rocks to the forest service boundary. The project team' and UDOT have'met'with the US Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to discuss the best approach to resolve this issue. The strategies available to obtainright-of-waywithin the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument are limited. The Monument Proclamation does not allow for appropriation of land within the monument. It will be necessary to pursue a rightof-way grant. A right-of-way grant is an authorization to use a specific piece of public land for specific use. As part of this next phase of the SR-12 project, UDOT and the project team will seek a Title V right-of-way grant from the BLM. This process involves submitting a right-of-way grant application and an accompanying plan of development to the BLM. The plan of development is a document that will outline and describe the proposed actions/spot improvements along the corridor. Following the grant application process, a National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) document will be prepared. Because Title V is a grant, not a transfer of land, BLM will remain the steward of the land. Prior to Phase II, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) was the lead agency for this project. Due to the Monument Proclamation and the need to pursue a Title V right-of-way land grant, BLM will act as lead agency for this phase of the project, which entails submitting theright-of-waygrant application and the plan of development. As recommended by BLM, the project team will submit the right-of-way grant application and plan of development for review prior to preparing a NEPA document. Due to limitations on available funding, the proposed actions that will be included in the plan of development and the subsequent NEPA document will be prioritized based on need. At this time the plan of development and the NEPA document will address right-of-way and potential improvements that could possibly be funded within the next five to ten years. Any additional improvements will be environmentally cleared in a separate NEPA document. This next phase of the project, which includes the right-of-way grant application and plan of development, will span approximately six to eight months. After that time, public comment on the proposed actions outlined in the plan of development will be sought and a NEPA document will begin. WEDDINGS Kennedy - Matthews Benjamin Lewis Matthews and Erica Dawn Kennedy wilt be married July 14, 2006, in Marysvale. Utah. A reception will be held that evening in the Marysvale LDS Chapel from 7 until 9 p.m. There will be an open house Saturday, July 15 from 6 to 8 p.m. in the Panguiich LDS Chapel. Benjamin is a graduate ofSUU specializing in computer systems. He is currently employed at the Moroni Turkey Plant in Moroni. Erica is also a graduate of SUV. She is in the field of criminal justice. She is a counselor at the Iron County Correctional Facility in Cedar City. Erica is the daughter of Keith and Glenna Kemiedy of Marysvale. Benjamin is the son of Verl and Elaine Matthews of Panguitch. Carter ** Burnett Bart and Joy Carter are pleased to annouce the marriage of their daughter Ashley Carter to Brandon Edward Burnett son of Bruce and Deonna Burnett on Friday, the seventh day of July Two Thousand and Six for lime and all eternity in the St. George LDS Temple. Please join us for celebration in their honor on Saturday, July 8th at the Escalante Stake Center from 6 until 9 p.m. UTAH COLLEGE STUDENTS STARTING TO PAY AT LEAST $1962 MORE Utah Parents and Students Get Hit With Higher Student Loan Payments Utah students will have to pay $1962 to $2362 more in college loans starting last Saturday, according to a new report released today by the research arm of the Campaign for America's Future. College students and graduates will be pushed deeper into debt as interest rates on Stafford loans — the basic student loan — rise from 5.3 percent to 7.14 percent on old loans and to 6.8 percent on new loans. Parents that take out PLUS loans to help their children pay for an undergraduate education also face rising interest rates. Rates on PLUS loans will increase from 6.1 percent to nearly 8 percent for existing loans and to 8.5 percent on new loans, costing the average parent nationally an extra $3000 and $3953 respectively. Campaign for America's Future co-director Robert Borosage explained how the failure of the current administration and Congress to make college affordable for all qualified students is a disservice to the country." Leadership has allowed interest rates on student loans to rise, increased the interest rate on loans that parents take out to help pay for their children's education and refused to allow a vote on a bill that would cut interest rates in half on new loans." The rising interest rates come at a bad time for American families attempting to pay for college: Tuition at the average 4-year public university has increased by 40 percent since 2001, and nearly two-thirds of all 4-year college graduates now have student loans. Students and their parents are going further into debt, creating a burden that is often unsustainable. Student loan debt already causes 14 percent of young graduates to delay marriage; 30 percent to hold off on buying a car; 21 percent to postpone having children; and 38 percent to delay buying a home. Students and families need relief from rising interest rates on student loans. Sen. Richard Durbin, D-I1L, and Rep. George Miller, D-Calif, responded to the public's concern earlier this year by introducing legislation that cuts student loan interest rates in half. Their legislation would have saved Utah students and families $4299 in payments, according to today's report. •....' |