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Show Ways to help serve others A2 75¢ Gunnison Valley Edition www.sanpetemessenger.com VOL. 85 • NUMBER 47 SANPETE WEA THER EATHER Shop with a Cop program brings joy to Sanpete kids FORECAST High/Low MANTI, UTAH • WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2006 % precip. Wednesday 39/17, Sunny ............ 10% Thursday 41/21, Sunny ............ 10% Friday 38/24, Cloudy ........... 10% Saturday LLOYD CALL / MESSENGER PHOTOS 36/22, Snow ............. 30% Last Week’s Weather (Left) Len Gasser with the (Courtesy Ted Olson, Snow College) Date Max. Min. Ephraim City Police Department is helping check out a bicycle and other Christmas gifts for Braydon Otteson of Gunnison. Prec. Snow Nov. 26 49 18 Nov. 27 40 32 Nov. 28 29 20 .23 7” Nov. 29 23 0 Nov. 30 20 -12* Dec. 1 31 11 Dec. 2 29 0 *Record low for this date (Right) Mauri Joe Rowley of Centerfield gets plenty of help choosing a belt from Matt Briggs of Wildlife Resources and Wal-Mart associate Beth Draper. FOR AVALANCHE AND MOUNTAIN WEATHER INFORMATION Updated every weekend and holiday www.avalanche.org/~lsafc or: 1-800-OHV-RIDE Provided by Utah State Parks and the Manti-La Sal Avalanche Center AT A GLANCE Festival of Carols on Sunday GUNNISON—The annual Gunnison Community Festival of Carols will be Sunday at 7 p.m. in the Gunnison Valley High School Auditorium. Various LDS wards and non-LDS churches in the valley will present musical numbers. Everyone is invited to the non-denominational program. Lawsuit delays release of BLM resource management plan By Sean Hales Associate editor RICHFIELD—The release of a draft resource management plan by the Bureau of Land Management has been delayed due to litigation. The draft, which has travel/ access implications for Sanpete, was planned for release on Nov. 17 prior to a public comment period. A lawsuit filed by the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA) regarding proposed oil and gas exploration activity on land east of Capitol Reef National Park has delayed FROSTBITTEN Write to absent missionaries and servicemen Names and addresses of missionaries and members of the military services from Sanpete County are being posted Wednesday at: sanpetemesenger.com. A link to the addresses is on the “Merry Christmas” banner ad on the home page. You said It! “Go home and fine tune your craft instead of watching TV.” —Melissa Jane Dichiera, an Australian actress, dancer and singer, while addressing music majors during a recent guest lecture at Snow INSIDE Opinion .............A4 Lifestyle ............A5 School ..............A7 Sports ...............A8 Classifieds .....A10 Utah Press Association General Excellence winner 1999 - 2001 - 2002 - 2003 - 2004 - 2005 SEAN HALES / MESSENGER PHOTO Early mornings in Sanpete paint a crystalline picture of frost for the season. A record low was set on Nov. 30, -12 set in Ephraim, according to Ted Olson, Snow College weather observer. the draft’s release. According to BLM Planning Specialist Frank Erickson, SUWA opposed the proposed leasing of the lands for oil and gas exploration, arguing that the BLM did not appropriately address the effects of that activity on the area’s wilderness values. Erickson said those questions relate directly to the bureau’s plan, and until they are answered to the court’s satisfaction, the plan is in limbo. He said the lawsuit is the only thing holding the plan from being released for public comment. “We’re not sure exactly what we have to do in order to fix it,” Erickson said. He did add that the BLM’s attorneys are working on a solution. The plan has caused some concern for outdoor enthusiasts in Sanpete who would like to see largely unrestricted access to public lands. Erickson said the plan provides for three levels of access to public lands: 1. Open, which is what is available at places like Little Sahara, the sand dunes near Delta, where entire stretches of land are open for all sorts of motorized vehicles. Most of the BLM land in Sanpete is currently open access. “We’re trying to provide some level of open use,” he said, such as in the White Hills area near Mayfield. However, “we need to go look again” at the White Hills area to make sure there are no endangered wildlife or plant species, Erickson said. 2. Limited, which is the most likely type of access for Sanpete roads and trails under the proposed plan. Erickson said under limited access, lands will be restricted for access to certain roads and trails, and those roads and trails might be limited to the types of vehicles that can access them. 3. Closed, which means no access for motorized vehicles. Erickson said, at this point, the plan does not call for any closed areas in Sanpete on BLM land. Erickson said while BLM land in Sanpete has no wilderness value, it is important to wildlife as winter range, particularly deer, and is a primary consideration in the proposed access management plan. When the draft is released, it will be noticed in area newspapers. But when that will happen is yet unknown. “The process is unmanageably long,” Erickson said. “We’re frustrated by it. We’d really like to wrap this up.” The BLM has been work(See “BLM” on A2) Badger defense keeps opponents at arms’ length in 26-21 victory By Sean Hales Associate editor SALT LAKE CITY—With one quarter left in the Top of the Mountains Bowl last Saturday at Rice Eccles Stadium, there was still a lot of football left to play. Snow College scored early in the quarter to regain a lead they lost in the third, but a missed extra point and two-point conversion left the Coffeyville Red Ravens within striking distance, 26-21. But two big defensive plays kept the Ravens off the scoreboard and secured Snow College’s third consecutive Top of the Mountains Bowl victory, 26-21. The Red Ravens had shown the ability to strike quickly when quarterback Bryan Savage hit wide receiver Deon Murphy for a 55-yard TD pass to tie the game at seven early in the second quarter. And the Badgers had dodged bullets all game: Murphy (who had 104 yards receiving in the game) was always a few steps ahead of Badger defenders, but many big-play passes fell just out of reach. I t w a s s o m e t h i n g t h a t h a d n ’t slipped by unnoticed for Badger head coach Steve Coburn. “We knew we couldn’t give him [Savage] time,” said Coburn. “We had to get pressure, and it worked.” Facing a third-and-11 from the Badgers’ 20-yard line, with just more than 13 minutes left to play, Savage threw a pass that was tipped at the line by Snow safety Josh Lehauli. “The ball came my way, and I knew I had to swat it down,” he said. S n o w a n d C o ff e y v i l l e t r a d e d punts before Snow’s defense recorded its only sack in the game as the final seconds ticked off the clock. Coburn said he was proud of his players for overcoming a deficit and fighting through adversity. “We recruit that type of character,” Coburn said. “We recruit the right kids, not the best kids. It’s a part of our program.” (See “Champions” on A8) WWW.CLICK4SPORTS.NET Top of the Mountains Bowl Director, Rick White (right), presents the championship trophy to Badger head coach Steve Coburn after Snow dfeated the Coffeyville Red Ravens 26-21 last Saturday. |