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Show Cyan Magenta Yellow Black 75¢ GUNNISON VALLEY EDITION www.sanpetemessenger.com VOL. 112 • NUMBER 20 WEA THER EATHER Thursday MANTI, UTAH • WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2005 Seasonal preparations 43/22 Showers possible Friday - 48/25 Mostly cloudy Saturday- 50/24 Cloudy Sunday- 49/26 Showers possible Last Week’s Weather (Courtesy Ted Olson, Snow College) Date Nov. 20 Nov. 21 Nov. 22 Nov. 23 Nov. 24 Nov. 25 Nov. 26 Max. 56 60 59 56 59 45 37 Min. Prec. Snow 18 21 20 24 15 16 19 .05” 1” AT A GLANCE Red Cross holding blood drive Dec. 7 GUNNISON—The Gunnison Valley Red Cross Blood Drive will take place on Wednesday Dec. 7 from 3-8 p.m. at the Gunnison Elementary School Cafeteria. Needed are people willing to roll up their sleeve and give the gift of life during this Christmas season. Anyone willing to donate please call Gay Bastian at 528-3543 for an appointment time. Local couple in intensive care following auto accident STERLING—Tim and Diane Denton of Sterling were in intensive care at Utah Valley Hospital Tuesday following an accident on slippery roads Saturday, Nov. 26 near Axtell. The Dentons are a widely-known ranching family. Tim Denton was recently elected to the Sterling Town Council. He has also held LDS leadership positions. The couple was returning from Monroe Springs, Sevier County, when they hit black ice. Their truck flipped and ended up 30 yards from the road, according to the investigating Utah Highway Patrol trooper. Both were ejected. You said It! “It’s amazing how many people come to the house asking for something, or asking you to go to their [house] because they need a notary or something else.” KAREN PRISBREY / MESSENGER PHOTO (Left) A sweet little miss gives Santa her wish list. (Above) Manti Elementary kids place traditional homemade ornaments on Manti Zions Bank Christmas tree. Municipal pay fairly equal for similar jobs By Suzanne Dean and John Hales Staff writers While there are some variances in what Sanpete County cities pay elected officials and staff, the gaps are not wide, especially when city size and skill level of the employees is considered, a Sanpete Messenger analysis shows. Recently, the Utah Legislature passed legislation requiring municipalities to publicly disclose pay levels for mayors, council members and city employees. The Messenger gathered com- pensation information from disclosures released in various city council meetings and gathered miscellaneous missing information by telephone. Then we converted monthly and annual salaries to hourly rates, based on how many hours the particular employee was scheduled to work. Several municipal employees who were interviewed said that taxpayers invariably believe the employees are making too much. But they said taxpayers typically have no idea of the aggravation and unpaid hours involved in their jobs. The highest paid elected offi- Paychecks in Sanpete County Municipalities (Figures are the Messenger’s best estimates based on data available and may not be exact.) Larger Cities (Population 2,260 -4,900) (Councils meet at least twice per month) Elected Officials, Monthly Salaries Ephraim Manti Mt. Pleasant Mayor $705 $133 $262.50 Council member $596 $100 $173.25 Gunnison 1 $275 $225 Staff, Hourly Compensation2 City manager or administrator City recorder, deputy recorder or treasurer3 Police chief Public works director Power director Gunnison N/A $15.09 $20.59 $17.25 N/A Ephraim $35.75 $16.19 $25.50 $25.50 $26.31 Manti $25.60 $15.70 N/A $21.04 $25.20 or she gets the value of the premium in cash. Moreover, all elected officials receive retirement benefits. But Ephraim City Councilman Don Olson says of elected municipal offices, “If you’re in it for the money, you’re in it for the wrong reason.” In October, he moved to reduce Ephraim council member salaries from $596 to $500 and di- vert the $96 per month per council member to support the Ephraim Chamber of Commerce. The council voted funds for the chamber, but tabled Olson’s motion until after municipal elections. The motion has not yet resurfaced. Ephraim City Treasurer Gayleen Duncan, who, during more than a decade with the city, (See “Pay” on A2) Home show next week will earn G-gettes funds By Karen Prisbrey Staff writer GUNNISON—Bright colored lights, sparkling and unique Christmas decorations, and the aromas of the holiday season will greet guests attending the annual Gunnison Valley High School Ggettes Christmas Home Show Tuesday and Wednesday, Dec. 89 from 5-9 p.m. Prepaid tickets are $5 and are being sold at Ace Hardware, or they may be purchased from members of the G-gettes drill team. Tickets purchased the night of the show are $6 and can be purchased at each of the individual homes being shown. Funds raised by the home show event help pay for needed drill props and fees at future drill team competitions. Homes to be visited in Gunnison this year include: Boyce and Cindy Mulder at 115 N. 400 West, the Seth Hendrickson home at 50 No. 100 South, and the Todd and Marie Neal home at 124 E. 100 South. Other homes include Morris and Catheryn Caldwell’s at 1164 S. U.S. 89 (South of Centerfield), the Bruce and Valene King home at 95 N. 200 West, Axtell; the Holly Chivers home at 260 S. 260 East, at Centerfield; and George and Jackie Berber at 420 Christenburg Road in Mayfield. St. Juan Diego Catholic Church to be dedicated By Sue Gillham Staff writer SUE GILLHAM / MESSENGER PHOTO General Excellence winner 1999 - 2001 - 2002 - 2003 - 2004 Mt. Pleasant N/A $17.41 $20.70 $20.41 $23.28 Medium-sized and small cities, see A2 Footnotes explanations also on A2. —Mayfield Town Clerk-Recorder Catherine Bartholomew, commenting on duties of small-town employees Utah Press Association cials are the mayor and city council members in Ephraim, the largest city in the county (estimated population about 4,900). The mayor gets $705 and council members $596 per month. But City Manager Richard Anderson says those salaries are comparable to elected official pay in Richfield and Nephi, which he says are cities of similar size and complexity. In fact, in Nephi (population 5,465), elected officials earn $250 per month, plus health insurance valued at about $1,000 per year. If an employee refuses insurance, he Rogelio Chavez and Julio Herrera are looking over the list of names of people who have donated money and volunteered time and materials to make this dream come true. GUNNISON—Bishop George H. Niederauer will dedicate the St. Juan Diego Catholic Church in Gunnison on Dec. 11 at 7 p.m. On Dec. 8 there will be an open house before Mass for people of the area to come and see the church and stay for Mass if they like. The Hispanic Catholics in the Gunnison Valley started getting together about a year ago to request having Mass. Many of them have a hard time getting away from their work at the dairies to go to Ephraim on Sunday afternoons. They accumulated enough names of interested parishioners for Father Diaz to begin having Mass. Diaz then contacted the Diocese of Salt Lake City and told them what was needed. A school in Sandy, San Juan Diego, donated money for a church. The old post office building was purchased and work began in early summer to renovate the inside of the building. The group has been having Mass there on Thursday evening for several months while doing work on the building other evenings and weekends. When asked who designed the plans, Jose Enrique Chavez said many people came together and decided what they wanted. (See “Dedication” on A8) SUE GILLHAM / MESSENGER PHOTO Rogelio Chavez, Julio Herrara, Jose Enrique Chavez , and Juan Carlos Adame are busy with all the other volunteers getting the church ready for the dedication on December 11, 2005. |