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Show community comments... It's difficult to Imagine, unless you've been able to observe firsthand, the amount of time, the number of meetings, the number of contacts, and the degree of effort placed in civic endeavors such as those currently underway to bring to culmination the proposed Mill Creek project. Efforts aimed at utilizing the total streamflow of Mill Creek in Moab and Spanish Valley, as well as on the mesas flanking the LaSal Mountains, have been made for three-quarters of a century. Various projects have been studied, some actual attempts have been made, to bring those waters into parched Spanish Valley. But at this point, it looks like the community is closer to seeing actual construction beginning on a comprehensive plan, than it ever has been. And the time is arriving soon for the public involvement which will lead up to a basic decision of whether or not to proceed. The lengthy and detailed report on the project, reviewed in California last week by local, state and federal officials, covers a whole lot more than I ever expected in an Initial report. And the detailed environmental and feasibility studies to come in the near future, will be even more detailed. Those in the community who, along with me, have long awaited some development on the Mill Creek potential, owe a lot of thanks to Ken McDougald, Ev Schumaker, and others on their board for the time, effort, and mileage they have chalked up in getting the project this far along. -sjt- Talk about silly laws. The feds have now come up with an old federal statute, according to word from the recent meeting of the Western River Guides Assn., that states no craft can be operated on waters under the jurisdiction of the U. S. Coast Guard unless it was manufactured in the United States. Since all of the post-war, surplus rubber lifeboats have now worn out, the only really good, safe boats available for float trips on the wild rivers of the west are made in foreign countries. There simply aren't any domestic manufacturers of such craft. ' I guess it would be simple enough to ignore the old, silly statute. But it would be a darn sight cleaner simply for Congress to wipe it from the books. -sjt- Along with hundreds of other Moab fans last Friday, I cheered the Devils on in their fantastic championship effort against Delta, and was proud of the performance turned in by the kids, who as usual, were well trained by their excellent coach, Glen Richeson and his staff. I had the added fun experience of sitting, during the first half, with my old high school football coach, Larry Palmer, who led an emaciated and crippled team of about twenty Red Devils, including me, to the same stadium many years ago for Moab's first-ever Involvement In a state championship playoff. We got trampled, it must be admitted, by a much better and considerably larger team from Millard County, but It was fun remembering that game with the old coach last Friday. Our team was so crippled leading up to the playoff, that to scrimmage, Palmer had to put one half of the team on defense, one half on offense, and run all the left-side plays. They he would switch things around and run all the right-side plays. Palmer, now an administrator at East High School In Salt Lake City, hasn't changed a whole lot. And he is still an enthusiastic Devil booster, waiting for Moab to win Its first state championship. He was so convincingly real last Friday, incidentally, that I didn't even dare smoke in front of him until halfway through the second quarter. -sjt- I have been personally sickened and disheartened the past week for what I consider to be one of the most Irresponsible pieces of advocacy journalism I have ever seen. I refer to the Channel 2 attack on the Utah State Training School in American Fork a school I have a good deal of contact with, since I have a child there who is happy, well trained, well cared for and loved. Further, I had the experience, in the middle 1960's while a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, of seeing the school and seeing how it has enlarged and improved to this date. In fact, it is a prototype school being studied by other states, as a fine example of what can be done with handicapped and retarded children when a state and its people really care. To destroy the morale of the staff; to place doubts In the minds of taxpayers and legislators for the sake of gaining more viewers is indeed sad. As a parent of a child Involved, I am downhearted by the attack. As a practicing journalist myself, I am less than proud of my profession In this instance, to say the least. MMiiiHinniiiiiiiiiiiiirMifiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniMiiiiiiiiinMiiiniiiiMiHiHinniiiiniiniiiiiit.. .1111111111111111111111111 |